For me, It’s not about being optimistic or cynical. It’s about getting to the actual truth regardless of how it makes me feel.
Reading this current prototype thread, my thoughts just constantly go back to this old thread Pokemon Card Front MTG Back. In retrospect, it’s crystal clear how dead wrong all the replies were and how closed off the default position was when it comes to something that is weird and not really seen before. Just trying to avoid that here.
For further reading you can also look here Pre-Base Set Test Print / Prototype Blastoise but unfortunately this one is harder to follow because the OP ragequit halfway through and deleted most of their replies.