#The TADC is the indie show and fandom I needed

[teeth-cable]

Have you seen The Amazing Digital Circus yet?

If so, what's your opinion on it?

I LOVE TADC! It’s my favorite indie show at the moment! There’s just so much I like about it but my main ones are

1. The setting and execution being unique. A horror-like project taking place in an late 90s/early 2000s digital game is not a new idea and same goes with characters being stuck in a purgatory however it’s how the artists reinvent those idea that makes it new. The digital Circus made its own aesthetic that makes it stand out from other projects with similar concepts and designs. When I first watched the pilot, one of many things that stuck out to me was how new the story ideas felt. I couldn’t think of any other pieces of media similar to TADC beside for surface-level comparisons. The TADC created its own aesthetic and knows what it wants to be and I like it!

2. Soundtrack. Speaks for itself, the soundtrack for the pilot is so good especially Your New Home. That song is very catchy and emotional too. It has such a unique melody, everytime you hear the first few notes you instantly recognize it. It does a great job highlighting the dread and existentialism crisis of Pomni’s situation. I recommend to give it a listen if you haven’t.

3. The characters dynamics. I just love how the characters interact with each other. The majority of the jokes comes from characters’ interactions and dynamics and how well everyone plays off of each other. The best example is Jax with everyone, Jax is a funny jerk who likes bullying his peers. It’s funny to see what creative ways Jax will bully the other people whether it’s being sarcastic and making quips at them, or though goofy pranks and how the characters react because of their contrast in personality. Every character beside Jax is openly stressed or worried in someway while Jax, at first seem like a chill layback dude.

4. The characters differences. I adored the differences between each character from how they talk to their poses. After watching HH and HB, I learned to have an appreciation for character differences. It’s just refreshing to see characters allowed to be different instead of the same tired reused tropes and repeating the same type of dialogue again for every character.

5. Mystery and lore. There is so much to explore in the pilot, it’s make you wanting more. When going in to watch the pilot, I made the mistake of thinking the series will be predictable. I didn’t see how they could make this premise work because by the end of it, Pomni will go insane but then I watched the pilot and was speechless. The pilot does a good job setting up questions for the audience to ask. If Caine lied about the exit, what are other things did he lied about? How long has the cast been stuck in the circus? Who are these people? Are they previous game developers? Who were they in their previous lives? What is the company’s motivation to create the headset? What are the abstractions in game? Are they viruses to the game program? Who were the former cast? What horrors has Kinger seen to be as paranoid and easily frighten as he is now? Do the abstractions still have a consciousness? You just want to find out more about the lore to solve the many mysteries in the show. I find it impressive Gooseworx was able to stir up the theorists because they have admitted in an ask, there are already theories floating around that are almost right about the show.

One problem I did have for the pilot were the scenes containing the Gloink Queen. The pacing of the pilot was fine until we got to her then it was slow. I feel it dragged longer than it needed too but beside that, my issues for the pilot ends.

I can’t speak for the fandom on other platforms but the tumblr one is great! Most of the time everyone is being respectful towards each other and I love seeing what creative theories, AU, fanfics, and art the fans created. The only people causing drama are the anti-shippers, and it’s just dumb. All of the cast are adults, if age gaps ships makes people uncomfortable, that’s valid but they shouldn’t make it into other people’s problems. Gooseworx themselves admitted they don’t care for romance and they don’t want fans in the fandom getting harassed over shipping.

Overall despite what issues I had for the pilot and fandom, they’re overshadowed by the positives and I can’t wait to see the full show and the fandom’s growth.

#꧁rambles꧂ #➥asks #the amazing digital circus #The TADC is the indie show and fandom I needed #After a year of critiquing Viv and her shows and being a fandom as toxic as HH & HB I just needed a break #I’m still active as you can see but barely posting and critiquing the shows anymore #I do check the critical tags every now and again to catch up and I’m just not interested in consuming any Viv’s content anymore #The last Ep I saw from HB was Unhappy Campers and the last video related to HH was the Happy Day in Hell one #I kinda don’t see the point of being very active on my HH amounts when I’m no longer watching Viv and I think everything to Viv is regressi #Viv is getting more careless about how she presents herself online and people are starting to noticed how much of an ass she really is #responding on a funny shitpost of “If the TADC was written by Viv” lightly making fun of her and she blew up once again #I’ve seen creators with a decent size following in other platform not just Twitter called her out and Viv and the fandom is be the- #reasons why Hazbin will fail #Her fandoms are notorious for being toxic/ fans going out of their way to attack not just haters but anyone who doesn’t praise Viv 24/7 #Viv is actively creating toxic environment in her fanbases so she can protect herself from criticism and allegations behind her fans #But because of this Viv is contributing to the future downfall of Hazbin because no one wants to be associated with her because of her fanb #There’s just no reason to stay around #If the reaction to the Prime’s video Happy Day in Hell from outsiders is mixed then the reaction will be too for the full release #Plus the general attitude towards Viv has changed over the last three years #Despite her previous controversies she was see as a respectful creator but now views are mixed #People see her as the indie creator whose show took a nose drive in season 2/doesn’t pay her employees/is immature/and is now seen in a- #more negative light

[helluva-dump]

At this point, the hazbin/helluva critical community has fallen flat. And when I say that, I mean that it lacks potential. Like, I thought we were criticizing about the characters and the show itself. I thought we were talking about it's issues and what Viv could approve on it. But now, these people are just targeting fans of Viv's show who are just going on about their day, taking screenshots of harmful posts and posting it on the critical blog just to shit on them. You can't even consider that "critical" now when you're just being an asshole. They wonder why Viv and her fans think the critics are so bad. On top of that, these people love to make assumptions about Viv harassing Gooseworx all because she's a "terrible person" like please stfu. "She probably did this" and they don't even have any proof. Maybe consider that Viv actually enjoys tadc and it's success? What is all of this "viv is mad because the amazing digital circus is more successful than her shitty shows"? I dunno, man. That critical community is just so fucking dumb and stupid. They're not even talking about the shows anymore. They just bitch and fuss about everything.

For real, I had never seen such a critical community this much of a train wreck as the fandom is.

I mean hell, I engaged with the SVTFOE community before (and that show has the EXACT same problems as Helluva boss) and the critical blogs were very chill.

I feel like what didn’t help is how immature and unprofessional Vivziepop acts publicly. But at the same time…. I can’t really blame her for getting defensive when these antis dogpile her on everything.

And yes, the screenshots making fun of harmless posts of fans were red flags to me. Like dude, we have rabid fans and Stans do that to us, why the hell are you stopping to their level??? (I’m not gonna include the voodoo controversy because that to me needed to be talked about. A lot of POC fans and criticals had every right to discuss that and Viv should had given an apology or explanation over that. With closed religions that always got stereotypes due to colonizers, you need to be careful when writing about them. )

Oh God don’t get me started on the whole Vivziepop and Gooseworks relationship assumptions… that actually annoyed me too and I’m sure there’s no bad blood with them. I get she had bad blood with Tracey and possibly Ashley, but I don’t think it’s fair to assume she’s like this with every indie creator.

Honestly, its both of their fandoms that are acting unhinged. But I even seen hardcore fans of Viv like Dani praising TADC and Gooseworks, so I doubt the whole fandom are planning to sabotage them. TADC isn’t a rain full of sunshine either, they too have so much bad apples there.

Also my big issue with this community I’ve noted some critical blogs that claim they wanna make an original series (well one already made a webcomic) but they NEVER stop bitching about Viv and go on and on how they never do this to their project… unmmm dude? If you constantly compare your project to Viv’s, your gonna lose your audience this way. This can make you come off as an a logger and a very petty person to others. Trust me, this is NOT going to make people want to be interested in your original projects.

It’s also very unprofessional to do this publicly. I get looking at bad writing motivates you how to not to things… but the constant comparing is going to make you look like a very petty person to your outside audience. And they feel like your project won’t have agency on its own without being “better than Helluva/Hazbin.” I say this because I too am working on an indie project I want to make to a webcomic. And I REALLY don’t wanna ruin my reputation that way.

That’s what Zeartist did when he made his shitty ass books and would constantly hitch and whine about twilight on his life journals. And he would always bring up his original series and how it’s “better” and how he wouldn’t write such garbage like Stephanie Meyer.

And guess what???? His books are just twilight 2.0 but even worse 😂😂😂 he ended up doing the exact same thing stephanie did, bitches out over criticism, and yeah a huge hypocritical asshat.

That’s why constantly comparing your project to another person’s to seen as better is NOT a smart idea. Please have some self awareness there if your actually planning to make a webcomic or an original series.

Also… I’ve noticed people that have beautiful startled would waste it on blind hatred. Like that “I HAtE VIVZIEPOP” blog. Like godamn, their art is beautiful but they had an unhealthy hate obsession with Viv… why waste your energy on that when you can make something better?

I’m not talking about rewrites, AUs, or redesigns because to me those are like fanfics and for fun. The stuff I do is mainly just for fanfic fun and a writing/world building exercise for me. But also a little bit of self indulgence since I sitll admire Viv’s characters. You can enjoy something without giving your support to the actual creator. I’m trying to show my support to the team behind it.

(I’m even planning to buy fan merch from one of the clean up artists on their shop. To me it’s the ethical way of getting Hazbin/Helluva merch without directly giving it to Viv but to her artists instead. )

#helluva boss critical #Hazbin hotel critical #have some self awareness yall #anon ask #ask

[chaifootsteps]

(long ask, sorry!) the new media HH/HB thread on TV Tropes is doing the 'Viv gets scorn no matter what because she's a queer woman who makes things' routine atm (they're blaming TADC fans for toxicity and discussing the 'write like HB' trend, for context)

I've definitely seen creators (anyone, really) get far more hate online when they're female for stupid reasons, but it's frustrating to see them do the 'Viv can't win no matter what she does' thing because I can't really think of an instance where she hasn't responded to criticism she doesn't like, or has actually tried behaving like a professional for a minute - even some of her fans on subreddits have said she needs to step away from Twitter for her reputation's sake or hire someone for PR.

The reason she 'can't win' is not because she's a woman - she's not Rebecca Sugar and she's not Tracy Butler who know how to behave professionally (and before Viv started mudslinging at Lackadaisy, neither Tracy nor the LD crew had any drama attached to them despite Tracy being a woman herself... curious)

Viv's a creator who acts as though she doesn't have the confidence to let her work stand on its own merits and can't bring herself to ignore criticism (given she seems to disagree with practically all of it; the only thing I've seen Spindlehorse try to improve is not using red as a bg color so much and cutting down on the constant sound effects), & as a result she has cultivated a fandom who feel rewarded when they make tweets either defending her or explaining the show on her behalf because she keeps liking those tweets, which only makes it happen more. the lack of distance she keeps from her fans and the way she actively rewards the ones who put down criticism of her makes them act like she's their friend instead of someone whose show they like and someone who is actively using them as both a shield & sword. This is why the fandom has a bad rep, it's not just that the Hellaverse shows suck - it's that their creator will paint all criticisms as bad faith and only makes the effort to address fans not when they harass, bully or threaten people, but when they do something that affects her personally (like celebrate a ship on the same day as her birthday). and I understand social media feels like overwhelming toxic noise: but that's why creators need to learn to step back and not engage so much. enabling toxic fans aside, this level of enmeshment strikes me as bad for anyone looking to hone their craft and create something meaningful

as much as I want to offer some pushback in that thread I feel the plagiarism accusations will be immediately downplayed or ignored and any mention of bad pay or treatment in the workplace will be met with accusations of 'debunked!!' or 'some of the reviews were fake therefore all of them are, even the ones that line up with consistent accounts of bullying or misgendering or a pattern of no deadlines being given!!' asking 'I don't understand what she's done to attract this level of vitriol' kind of suggests they haven't looked that hard or listened to anyone who would want to tell them

but if I was to put it to them, I think I would say - Viv will 'win' when she behaves like a professional, credits people properly, doesn't just drop people when they're no longer useful, stops burning bridges with other people working in the indie animation space, stops vaguing and painting all criticisms as bad faith and understands that even behaving professionally will not make people stop criticizing her show, because every artist in the world has to deal with the fact that people will want to discuss and critique their work. and though I doubt the writing on her shows would ever improve, I'm sure people would at least respect her trying to act more like the professional showrunner she's supposed to be. no one can 100% control their own narrative with her level of Internet fame, but the best way not to make it actively worse is to stop trying to imo

Agreed, and also I feel like it's been years since TvTropes was right about anything. Although even the Viv pages on TvTropes have been very slowly getting more and more critical.

#Anonymous #viv stuff #actual blog post

[gaybabeyjailbreak]

So, I have watched TADC due to all the hype that's been around it and I just... Don't see the reason for any hype to be there at all?

I'll break it down, It's not uncommon for Indie animations to accrue a big following that will stay with them throughout thick and thin as the major appeal of the genre is the romanticised idea of supporting an underdog and helping fulfill the dreams of an art school graduate in realising their own little piece of art. It is also not uncommon for this fandom to dissolve when they perceive an issue in this fantasy that no longer satisfies them like this, which results in all of the jumping ship that happens when a new project is released and the previous fascination is portrayed as bad. And of course the entire juvenile idea of there being mature animation (Read crass and rude, not actually mature.)

So it would make sense for the popularity of tadc to be from this combined reasons, and I feel the reason for this because i saw the show, and the only genuine way this mess would be so popular would be because of spawning st the right time, just as the magic from Lackadaisy and Spindle horse is dying a bit and people need to fix on s new project.

Because let's be real, there's no inherent appeal in digital Circus as a show. The promised theme of the show is Dark Psychological comedy. But like that's not a thing, that's a combination of words that doesn't actually mean anything, walk with me for a second. How do you do dark, psychological, and comedy at the same time. Think about it, yeah, dark comedy is a thing sure. But can you turn that psychological? You have to be serious to be psychological, at least in the way the show protrays it, and it's not working. I don't know whether I'm supposed to be deeply invested because the moments requiring that are cut short by comedy, and I can't take the comedy in because suddenly a serious moment requiring deeper focus.

For real, the whiplash doesn't work, it is a tone issue you're not sure how to approach and the writers certainly aren't skilled enough for this to work.

See the premise could work as a comedy, it very much could, but I'd believe people would hate it because fandom hates not being able to theorize and mysterize the show of the week. So we also get, some bits of seriousness, some attempt at a story, but without actually committing to any. We don't get enough of a story to fully grasp anything coherent, even for pilot standards, but what little there is, is distracting from the premise of no story needed just characters in a setting having fun. It tries to be dark and psychological by attempts of horror, except the "psychological" is just mental torture of the main fem character Pomni, which starts reading like outright fetishism of fem suffering after the second time we're very intimately shown she's breaking down. And the "dark" horror falls short because the inherent fear of the unknown from the monster, the mystery that contains dread is immediately revealed, and the existential horror is underutilized.

Speaking of mysteries, it's kinda embarrassing to try and pull a computer based mystery nowadays, and people fully accepting it as a fresh take. I guarantee you that any reveal of why something in this show is the way it is, will be very underwhelming. Possesed headsets, computer code going haywire, possesed viruses, government experiments, dead people souls in some code. Literally any explanation you can think of has been done, and considering how little these revelations add to a story, their only aspect being shock value suddenly dissapears, and now you will be left with a nothing of a reveal in your nothing of a story.

And that's really what it is. A sandbox, It's a tumblr post of one of the various potential cartoon shows like Officer and mr. Paws, except they actually managed to make a pilot. The only appeal the show has is introducing a few tumblr sexymen and sexywomen. I do not see any appeal in this show, no story it wants to tell.

I would say they're like clowns in a circus just playing for your enjoyment, which would be clever, but it's something so obviously advanced for how the show appears to be written right now that I seriously doubt that was an intentional parallel.

#the amazing digital circus #Digital Circus Critical #meda critical #story criticism #harsh vibes #indie animation #indie animated series #tadc #overhyped