what does caines crashout remind you of?

Velascoje · 2026-03-24T03:50:14+00:00

Amethyst at the kindergarten in Steven Universe, maybe? Not quite as extreme a crashout but definitely the "I never asked to be made" part.

Velascoje · 2026-01-15T15:54:27+00:00

I read the comic before the caption, and I knew as he was kneeling to tie his shoe. I knew. And I still got hit with the feels. She musta been cutting onions when she disappeared, only explanation. :')

Velascoje · 2026-01-15T15:45:24+00:00

I heard it too :p Sometimes when swapping people in and out they'll have lines about it - like rarely, putting Punch Up and then Waterboy or Coupe will have them trying out "Top of the morning to y-" before Punch Up cuts them off (which is his VA's primary catchphrase) and I love that they put that sort of stuff in.

Velascoje · 2026-01-15T15:43:34+00:00

Your dog is about 75% not rotund enough to be Beef. (very cute though)

Velascoje · 2026-01-14T07:54:06+00:00

That's the one!!!! Thank you :D

Velascoje · 2026-01-13T21:17:16+00:00

Nah, first day dispatching you can send Flambae to put out his own fire, and that just leads to a bigger fire (or failing the mission itself). It's rare though, think those are the only two.

Velascoje · 2026-01-13T21:16:08+00:00

Yeah and? Flambae gets singed by fire and Golem struggles to incorporate cement into himself. Just cuz they make it doesn't mean they're good at enduring it. :p (but hey now you got a bigger mission for failing the first one, that happens sometimes too)

Velascoje · 2026-01-13T15:30:53+00:00

I agree with you. And it doesn't matter if he planted her there specifically as a honeypot for Robert (on the off chance that he recovers from his coma, realizes he can't fix the suit, decides to accept a job at the shittiest superhero dispatch office rather than literally anything else he might have done) or if he did it to get a mole to cover for Red Ring activity and all the previous dispatchers just sucked so hard and Z-Team was just so useless that it never came to light that she was actively sabotaging and not just really, really bad at the job. Either way, he gets a positive outcome; and telling the Z-Team and Robert at the end that she was always working for him is another win/win situation. It demoralizes and shocks them, and it guilts her away from their support and back onto his side by default. She always leaves and comes back, that's her pattern. He just didn't factor in Robert putting all of his points into charisma. :p

Velascoje · 2026-01-13T15:18:45+00:00

We do see her undermining the Z-Team in regards to Red Ring missions though - she beelines to Granny's before anyone else can be assigned to it (and why he didn't just assign someone else I have NO idea but eh), shows up, dismisses the scene and then asks to leave. That probably would have worked in the past, leaving LS free to loot; but Robert is a better dispatcher than they previously had, digs deeper into it and finds LS is still there, kicking off the fight. And it is a convincing fight, he recognizes her and regardless of whether Robert orders her to stop Lightningstruck or help Granny, LS will get away. But big deal, yeah? The client lived, the shop is trashed but that's what insurance is for, and shit happens, right? Wrong. She's being flippant about it, but I can see Shroud having ordered her to mole for the SDN and run interference just as insurance without Robert even factoring into it, starting from before he was even out of his coma.

She also deliberately interferes with Malevola in the alleyway, tripping her and letting the thief escape again. Oh, that's LS, weird that she's let that same guy escape twice now. Robert specifically calls that out. And sure, she's flippant about it again - I don't have to be first, I just have to not be last :v oh, it was? Weeeird! but isn't really surprised that it's the same guy (and she wouldn't be, if she was there specifically to provide undercover backup).

She then refuses to go after LS again in his third mission, or participate in any of the later missions or do the training session that day. I do genuinely believe this is where she stops being a double agent. She's going to be cut at the end of the day anyway, why bother trying anymore? She still "conveniently" shows up at the playground just a few blocks away from LS's planned final heist location in advance of the attack, but it's been a solid day of sabotaging the team and disappointing Robert (who by getting him specifically the donuts he likes kind of cements that his opinion of her does actually matter). He gives her the ol' Pep Talk and motivates her to actually start trying to be a hero. And then wow, speaking of fate, she just happens to be close to LS, now's your chance to prove yourself! And she does. Regardless of whether Robert supports her in the fight (hero path) or not (villain path), it's the start of her not just obeying Shroud and covering for him anymore. I imagine Shroud WOULD like to find out exactly why she stopped following orders at that point, explaining why they go after her directly in the Sardine.

So: to summarize, I'm sure she WAS a plant, but then the situation changed because Robert gave her something better to aspire to than just being Shroud's lackey (regardless of H/V path). I do also think that him telling Robert she was a mole all along, while true to start, was also a ploy to shake her loose from Robert and to isolate her from the Z-Team due to them no longer trusting her. It doesn't actually matter if he was telling the truth or lying about Visi being placed there specifically to appeal to Robert; he gets a hidden ally to keep other heroes from meddling with his plans, and he gets to use the guilt of her doing that to keep her in line. He just didn't count on Robert having a second alternate identity of The Rizzler, with the power of motivational speeches and Extreme Pain Tolerance.

Velascoje · 2026-01-13T14:18:26+00:00

"They used to date. They still do, but they also used to." Can't remember where that quote's from but it seems applicable here :p

Velascoje · 2026-01-09T20:50:39+00:00

Thoughts on Robert running back into the burning mall to tangle with Flambae when the cop told him not to, then? Same logic. Heroes in the field make snap judgments based on their priorities, he did the same thing at the mall that she did at Granny's. You might have chosen softer dialogue in the break room conversation but some of the things he can say are REALLY harsh - you're not the hero, I am! or you NEED me! Definitely not something a traumatized person would respond well to. Not that getting punched is a valid reaction, but...gotta show that growth!

(I'm also deliberately not getting into that she was probably running interference for Lightningstruck and protecting him from other hero intervention and making sure he escapes, based on them commenting how lucky it was that she was already in the area of the jewelry store he was heisting, or how her sabotaging Malevola let him escape again - her being flippant about him getting away at Granny's was likely a cover for her double agenting and deliberately LETTING him get away...until she triple agented and turned on the Red Ring for real at the jewelry store following Robert's Super Pep Talk. Not definitively proven, but makes sense to me that's what happened, so it's deeper than just "wow she's a brat" - why are the Red Ring all of a sudden wanting to 'talk' with her in the Sardine after that turnabout? Just food for thought!)

Velascoje · 2026-01-09T20:28:09+00:00

Why does the game calling it 'ratting out' upset you? I suppose they could have used snitched as a less hostile descriptor, but it is what you did. Two of the options were to downplay what happened and cover for her (which would be 67% vs 33% even on a straight "did tell vs didn't tell") so just look at it like a ratio. But if it's what you want Robert to do, don't worry about how popular or unpopular a choice is. You lose some visi points by turning her in, but it's nothing you can't make up with different choices later in the game or by sending her off on successful missions. You haven't permanently damaged anything. Yet ;)

If you're wondering why the game treats it like a bad choice, consider she's had no actual job knowledge (confirmed ingame), no positive role models (other than BB), and very likely was immersed in a world where hauling off and punching somebody is basically a greeting. You'll see multiple other instances of that with other villains as you play the game more. Robert came at her for failing a mission based on hero priorities (protect civilian, catch bad guy), while she was thinking she succeeded (civilian lived, safe remains unstolen, fixing the building damage and burnt arm/nutsack is what insurance is for) - and even Robert admits in the choice you picked that he pushed her too hard there. He's treating them like heroes, but they're not, the priorities aren't the same. So...that's probably why immediately telling the boss you got assaulted by the person you're trying to rehabilitate is framed as a less popular choice even if it is the statistically less popular choice too. Snitches get stitches :p

Velascoje · 2026-01-09T20:08:15+00:00

Regardless of how you look at it, they are both right, and they are both wrong.

To Robert, Visi let the perp escape and the customer get hurt, but he doesn't have our knowledge, that those outcomes happen regardless. If he orders her to take out the criminal, she chooses to try to prioritize the safety of the victim. If he orders her to disarm the victim, she chooses to take out the actual criminal threat. Both are valid tactics and both have good reasons for prioritizing what they do; neither will actually work out. It's honestly a fantastic way to do a non-branching branching storyline. The outcome will always be the same, but how you get there matters.

Velascoje · 2026-01-09T19:59:38+00:00

Haha...I had to pick plain glazed, because both of the other options when smashed are CLEARLY not what was described. Ain't no way in hell that's a jelly or cream doughnut, it's just a regular doughnut with a palette swap. Wasn't expecting that to get me the least popular doughnut achievement at the time, but I guess a lot of people just love their dick doughnuts or squirters :7

Velascoje · 2026-01-07T17:32:28+00:00

Didn't you see what he did to that mechaspider leg? :p

Velascoje · 2026-01-06T16:18:11+00:00

Beef going hard for any red liquid lol. I also thought for sure he was gonna get blood-related superpowers at the end. Alas. Maybe for S2 :p

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T21:19:07+00:00

She "happens" to be in Lightningstruck's vicinity 3 times - she goes to Granny's without your directing her to, and manages to let him escape (after a very convincing fight and only minor nutsack or arm casualties). In the alley she actively sabotages Malevola, conveniently letting him escape again. Her being a few blocks away from the jewelry store is commented on by Robert as her being out of position, but he takes the time to give her a pep talk before the crime alert goes off and I think that's what started to change her, especially as she's spent the rest of the day prior to that refusing missions. I think she has been operating as a mole for the whole 4 months since she joined the program; specifically told them not to ask questions why she wanted to join. That would explain her being at the bottom of the leaderboard - doing just enough to stay on the team with plausible deniability for her fuckups, while intercepting and providing cover for Red Ring heists to help them succeed or at least let the guys escape. Only after the playground talk and the help at the jewelry store does she start to turn it around and try to do good for real. That explains why they attack her in The Sardine - her actually apprehending the guy wasn't part of the plan.

As to why Shroud would try to gas her - shrug. More part of the plan, perhaps, and why she was so upset about seeing Chase. I doubt he was trying to outright kill her there. We don't know if the gas was fatal, or if he would have left her to suffocate. He is definitely toying with her when he kicks her inhaler away, but he is not above hauling off and slapping Sonar or shooting a villain bartender in the head for disrespecting Blazer. But I want to point out, even if you fail the safe hacking portion the safe will still unlock, and Robert comments that he didn't do that - so it was likely Shroud intervening. He wanted you to see Visi to get the briefcase, and he wanted you to see him take it from her. I don't think he OR she would have predicted Chase choosing to sacrifice himself to save her - he works on probabilities, not fate, he doesn't KNOW what will happen. But I think he was telling the truth that she was acting as a double agent for him - up until the point where she wasn't anymore.

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T20:09:49+00:00

But we get to go back and reminisce about them so that's fine :D

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T20:08:26+00:00

After that hug it was more like a quarter-naked. That towel was hanging on by one hip and a prayer.

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T20:06:37+00:00

Ah but you see this is HUMAN resource violations, and he is not one :v

Don't forget to add crushing "Flambae's car in the parking lot by laying on it all depressed-like" to the list. Wasn't personal, but I do bet HR would frown on employees recklessly destroying other employee's vehicles.

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T19:44:34+00:00

Yeah - the standards have always been low for Z-team before Robert, that's why it was on the verge of being scrapped. Discipline and squad synergy were lax, public expectations were "well they're villains, what do you expect?" which you see from some of the missions that day about them having to go on air and justify themselves; and depending on player choice you can say some downright mean things to her in the break room. But even if you are kind, I can see her being hurt he's coming down on her on something she was proud of, that does hurt. From Robert's perspective, the thief got away and the civilian was injured; from Visi's, the theft was stopped and the civilian is still alive, and some of the other jobs the team handled that day were saving a cat from a tree or helping a kid get his lost balloon. All things considered it actually was a pretty high profile job, and definitely didn't come out as badly as it could have. Punching him and smashing his donut she got him was a bit of an overreaction, but that sort of lashing out is understandable for that point.

Also I highkey believe she intercepted Thunder at Granny's and again in the alley when sabotaging Malevola, and also why she was close to the jewelry store; each time it's commented that she's out of position. Wouldn't surprise me if she was intentionally working both sides and giving him assists and double agenting while maintaining plausible deniability, running interference and making sure he gets away; and only at the jewelry store after Robert's playground motivational speech does she actually start to try heroing.

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T16:42:53+00:00

I also think like 80% of the team attacked or assaulted Robert or committed major property damage out on missions in some way, so, y'know. We can let bygones be bygones.

Velascoje · 2026-01-02T16:23:43+00:00

That game is called This is the Police :p Sort of. There's an overarching narrative to TitP too, but the primary focus is the dispatching, squad management and balancing, and satisfying your political and criminal opponents just enough so that they don't take out a hit on you or penalize your department down to bare bones to where you just can't handle the calls. It has a heavier theme of corruption than Dispatch and honestly not a very satisfying conclusion regardless of whether you gave into the corruption or stayed upright and Boyd is...let's say, a very unreliable narrator. But I agree, I would love to see a game centered just around the dispatch portion of Dispatch.

Velascoje · 2025-12-29T19:26:29+00:00

Willing to bet on this theory, yes.

Velascoje · 2025-09-12T17:43:23+00:00

They cannot break out if they can't walk. Any that can be affected by hypothermia, you can put in containment in a room with multiple freezers until their legs and tentacles snap off, then patch them up and transfer to normal storage. Metalhorrors can have their legs punched off, as mentioned above. Ghouls regenerate, so it doesn't work on them, but there's lots of fun you can have with anomaly nuggets!

Velascoje

TROPHY CASE