u/Pandoras-SkinnersBox

Brennan has been the dungeon master for Critical Role Campaign 4 since 2025, so it is surprising to me that guest cast members on Dropout shows seem to no longer be from Critical Role. I rarely see them nowadays when they used to have at least Matt Mercer pretty consistently. They might still be inviting them, but I haven't seen them on a show since Matt/Aimee/Robbie/Taliesin on Dirty Laundry (I don't watch the nerd shit) and Brennan is now working with them every day so I'm not sure what's going on. Either way, Critical Role is a really important part of LA web series and seeing them silently discarded is weird.

I was excited to see Brennan take over for Matt as the DM for Critical Role and am now severely disappointed because it's much longer than D20, but the rest of the world seems happy to pretend that Brennan has a "new j*b." It's sad to see one last responsible production company give in.

Brennan wrote in his post about his Dropout contract extension that he was excited to join the campaign. I understand this completely, as Critical Role cast members are some of the best roleplayers and improvisers even if they can be hard to handle. Dropout is also at its core an entertainment company with no obligation to listen to fans about this, but I wish they would bring them back given the hell that Sam Riegel unleashes on so many people any time he's in an unscripted setting.

Also if you're reading this and have seen Critical Role recently, please look into the Breaking News episode "Grant O'Brien Explains Dungeons & Dragons" and abstain from longform TTRPG content as much as possible for a couple of months. The campaigns can cause psychic damage, even to seasoned TTRPG/actual play watchers, and you really don't want to end up like me.

https://preview.redd.it/huybs5o9jsih1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=d139c0618d4ee0fada629b2a7cdbc18247bf3ba0

Hire fans, Sam.

/uj putting the hidden buttholes in took me way longer than it should have.

No, you're NOT a real Dropout fan.

I’m so sick of all these people that think they’re Dropout fans. No, you’re not. Most of you are not even close to being true Dropout fans.

I see these people saying “I watched all of Game Changer!” that’s nothing, most of us can easily watch every single spinoff and sidequest of every show in a year. I see people who only have a standard subscription and claim to be Dropout fans. Come talk to me when you pick up a Superfan sub and donate to a cast member's Kickstarter. Then we can be friends.

Also DEAR ALL OTHER INTERNET COMEDY FANS: Smosh is not a real comedy group. Mythical is not a real comedy group. The Try Guys are not a real comedy group. Watcher is not a real comedy group. Critical Role is not a real comedy group. Actual play groups are NOT.REAL.COMEDY GROUPS. put down the baby shows and watch something that requires challenge and intellect for once.

Sincerely, all of the ACTUAL Dropout fans.

I was watching Dropout shows, and found that on two separate occasions, players have platformed the middle grade book series Animorphs, which was presented by the shows as if it were a masterwork of literature.

The first of these instances was on Game Changer 'One Year Later', wherein Vehicular Michelin interprets the prompt of 'show up in the coolest costume' by dressing as a squid Animorph. There is a reference to the cover art of the 1999 Animorphs book 'The Exposed', stating that narrator Rachel transforms into a giant squid to save her friend. Vic's apparent 'transformation' from a they/she to a squid in the Game Changer episode, is deeply flawed, and there is no evidence at all to demonstrate the lasting cultural impact people claim the Animorphs franchise has.

The second instance was in Um, Actually Season 11, wherein Mr. Nwadiwe promotes Animorphs as a 'major' franchise through consistent trivia questions for the players. An Animorphs question occurred almost every episode, yet the players almost never got them right. This is a problem. In fact, the authors of Animorphs, "K.A. Applegate," was actually a pen name for married couple Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Claiming work from a couple in a heteronormative relationship as 'normal' and 'iconic' causes harm to Dropout's queer polyamorous viewers.

These claims not only promote useless and potentially harmful literature, but cause people to spend money they may not have on irrelevant middle grades books instead of real literature. This is especially concerning given Dropout's young audience, who are more prone to believing false claims when told to them by their favorite comics.

Sources:

1. Reich & Michaelis, 2025
2. Nwadiwe, 2026