#legend 2015 cast

[vinelark]

Hi! Just curious, what are your favorite comic runs? I've finished the comics on my current to-read list so I love hearing what other people like!

hello! as always i’m sure i’m forgetting plenty of stuff but these are some of my favs, both completed and ongoing series.

completed:

batman: the knight (2022)

miniseries, 10 issues total, so it’s extremely readable and really satisfying in a short amount of time! i like zdarsky’s bruce a lot (i’ve also enjoyed his work on the current batman run) and carmine di giandomenico’s art is fantastic. also, it’s the ghost-maker origin story and bruce & khoa somehow get divorced at least twice before the story’s over. love that for them.

superman: american alien (2015)

anthology collection about clark kent through the years, a really great read for superman—digging into clark’s character rather than focusing on external plot!—with some great cameos too (like young adult clark getting mistaken for some rich guy named bruce wayne at a yacht party, or reporter clark running into pre-robin dick grayson).

future state (2021) batman: dark detective

i am not immune to dan mora’s bruce wayne, especially when he is skrunkly and beat up the whole time.

batman: urban legends (2021)

an anthology so you can kind of pick up/put down as you like! these are a good read if you don’t want to be tracking huge overarching plotlines for a bit. the first few issues have a great jason series too.

ongoing series aka my current pulls at the comic shop:

spirit world (2023)

this one is new and is SO fun and compelling; i love xanthe already, and the assorted cast (including constantine and cass!) and new side characters (bowen my beloved, i’d die for you if you weren’t already dead) are delightful. one of those comics where i’m genuinely interested in the plot too and not just reading for my favs. alyssa wong is doing some really cool things with this concept/cast and i hope they have a chance to do way more in this world.

batman/superman world’s finest (2022)

again, i am not immune to dan mora, or the delightful superbat of it all. (and robin!dick! i love him.) i also started reading waid’s teen titans spin-off that takes place in this same era and there are only a few issues out so far but i’m having a great time.

city boy (2023)

i am OBSESSED with this concept (sentient cities! sharp-edged/lonely character figuring out his connection to them!) and the writing is super fun so far. also the intro comic (free on kindle/elsewhere; also has a free spirit world issue) has a great nightwing run-in.

i’m also subscribed to nightwing, superboy: the man of tomorrow, action comics (anything with kon crumbs…), and dark knights of steel (listen…i am still holding out hope for more royal court spy!tim crumbs), and i don’t know much about shazam yet but i’m giving the new series a try too.

[lands-of-fantasy]

Modern DCTV

(Most) Live-action series from 2000-present (2024)

SUPERMAN MYTHOS: Standalone Superman-related series

Smallville (2001-11)

Krypton (2018-19)

Superman & Lois (2021-) | The series is a spin-off of the 2015 Supergirl series, but it is set in its own continuity, on a different Earth. A different version of the titular characters, as played by the same actors, can be seen in the Arrowverse.

BATMAN MYTHOS: Standalone Batman-related series

Birds of Prey (2002-03)

Gotham (2014-19)

Pennyworth (2019-22)

Gotham Knights (2023)

ARROWVERSE: These series share continuity, each having their own separate storylines but also periodically connecting for a joint one.

Arrow (2012-20)

The Flash (2014-23)

Supergirl (2015-21)

Legends of Tomorrow (2016-22)

Black Lightning (2018-21) | The series joined the Arrowverse mid-season 3, and while it is affected by the events of the crossover of that year, it remained mostly independent.

Batwoman (2019-22)

"TITANSVERSE": These series are independent but Titans features its own version of the Doom Patrol (same cast, different universe) and has a Stargirl cameo.

Titans (2018-23)

Doom Patrol (2019-23)

Stargirl (2020-2022)

THE SUPERNATURAL: Standalone series centered on supernatural characters and events

Swamp Thing (2019)

Constantine (2014-15) | After the series' cancellation, the actor reprised his role as John Constatine in the Arrowverse, eventually joining the main cast of Legends of Tomorrow.

From the pages of DC Vertigo/DC Black Label:

Lucifer (2016-21)

The Sandman (2022-)

OTHER SERIES

Watchmen (2019)

Peacemaker (2022-) | This series is a part of the DC Extended Universe, taking place after the events of The Suicide Squad (2021) movie

See also: Marvel Television

[mycolourfullworld]

The Legend Christopher Lee and his wife Danish painter and former model Birgit Gitte Lee with his 1966 Mercedes-Benz 300 SE.

The great Sir Christopher Lee:

- He was the only Lord Of The Rings cast member to meet Tolkien.

He played Dracula 12 times.

- Writer Ian Fleming, his cousin, used him to create James Bond.

- During his career he acted in almost 280 movies.

- Entered the Guinness as the most cited actor on the screens.

- Spoke fluent English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Russian and Greek.

Christopher Lee At 90, he released the heavy metal song "Let legend Mark Me as the King," making Lee probably the oldest heavy metal singer ever.

The legend, the one and only Christopher Lee, the man who lived a hundred lives left us on June 7, 2015.

[shuttershocky]

So what's Gigantic?

One of my favorite games ever made, and one I thought lost forever until now.

Gigantic was a free to play 5v5, third person action game released on PC back in 2017, though I first played the game back in 2015.

A weird and wonderful mix of MOBA mechanics, platforming, and third person action game combat, a match of Gigantic tasked each team with destroying the other team's Guardian to win the game.

Now in a traditional MOBA like Dota or League of Legends, this objective would be a building. In Gigantic however, the objective is a massive kaiju, willing and able to squish you underfoot. How are you supposed to slay a beast the size of a building you ask? Simple. You use your own.

Each match in Gigantic is a race to empower your Guardian faster than the other team. This can be done by capturing checkpoints and placing a creature on it to start mining for power, killing other players to steal their power, or the ballsiest move—attacking the enemy Guardian to steal the power it's already got, preferably avoiding the laser beams it fires from its eyes to fry you on the spot.

Empower your Guardian enough and it will rampage across the map, bulldozing over enemy players and smacking the enemy Guardian with an earth-shattering strike. While your Guardian has the enemy Guardian pinned down, you can then attack it to deal damage without it being able to fight back. However, even an empowered Guardian cannot keep the enemy's Guardian pinned for long, and once it breaks out your own Guardian retreats, and the power race begins anew.

But a MOBA game is nothing without its cast of characters, and on that end Gigantic had among the best in video games. These were just some of the many incredibly varied, gorgeously drawn faces you could find.

These guys made the most out of their medium being in 3D rather than the isometric top down view of most MOBA games, with many having skillsets greatly inspired from a wide variety of different genres, from first person shooters to fighting games.

That woman with the eyepatch? That's Imani. A classic sniper character, her gimmick was that her skills changed what sort of ammo she carried, from regular crossbow bolts, to freeze bolts, to fire bolts, to bombs. Imani's unrivaled range meant she could take over parts of the map that were too open, while her ammo types gave her utility to help her team with rather than simply be a DPS bot.

The frog? That's Wu. A proud fighting game reference, he could do a tatsumaki, a rising flip kick, even a shoryuken for his Focus move (ultimate).

Now the thing about Gigantic's combat is that rather than go the MOBA route of building items and increasing stats as you level up to get stronger, Gigantic instead went for the action-game approach. There were no item builds or gold to consider, and rather than mana, every character had a stamina bar that was used to activate skills, but also allowed each and every character to dodge, sprint, and jump around. Levels were merely to put in more skill points that added new features to your existing moves rather than to increase your stat lines. Good stamina management and clever movement could allow you to dodge an entire team's worth of skills, and the lack of gold or items meant you could never be too far behind to outplay a stronger opponent. I've come back from near impossible matches where my Guardian was on a sliver of health while the enemy's Guardian was untouched, all from the team rallying and playing to the absolute best of their limits.

If you would like a more visual explanation, here's a quick introduction to the first character in that picture, the acrobatic assassin Tyto the Swift.

And over here is a video of a full match featuring somebody playing that character as a hypermobile assassin, leaping all around the map, making fine use of verticality and enemy blind spots to swoop in, deal damage, and get out.

I'm so glad Gigantic is back. it can't be allowed to die again.

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I’m obsessed with your passion for organizing your Arthurian media collection. This is absolutely the best resource I’ve ever seen!! I’m just getting into Arthurian media and I’ve only read a few stuff so far. Seeing the fandoms opinions for stuff at large has been super interesting. I think this is possibly the worst question I could ask, but are there any books where Arthur is the main character and he is a good person/king? I hope that this newbie question isn’t annoying but tbh I do like books about people striving to good things in the world and I know Arthur’s is a more complex character with fucked up stuff throughout the different legends but also. I’m sure at least one book he’s not killing babies or something. Sorry. For this question, I’m sure there is some sort of glaringly obvious misunderstanding on my part of the legends and also a personal character flaw of my own for slightly less complex characters who are nice but. These things happen. Idk sorry again, and thank you! I totally understand if you don’t answer this and I wish you all the best!!!!!!! <3 have a wonderful day!!!

Hello anon!

Thank you so much! I hope the collection has been helpful to you. :^) No need to apologize for anything, this is a great question. I have a bunch of suggestions. Most books are ensemble casts with many different points of view, not strictly Arthur; that's honestly rare! So I've included films and shows for you as well, some that focus on him even more. But you will find a lovely King Arthur to enjoy in them all. Have a great weekend!

Retellings

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, The Story of Launcelot and His Companions, & The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur by Howard Pyle

The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, & The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck

Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger

The Winter King, Enemy of God, & Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell

Exiled From Camelot by Cherith Baldry

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (I haven't finished yet but so far 10/10)

Films [Watch for free here!]

Knights of The Round Table (1953)

Sword of Lancelot (1963)

Camelot (1967)

Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

Excalibur (1981)

Merlin and The Sword (1985)

King Arthur (2004)

Arthur & Merlin (2015)

Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot (2020)

Kaamelott First Installment (2021)

TV Shows [Watch for free here]

The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949)

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-57)

Arthur of the Britons (1972-73)

BBC The Legend of King Arthur (1979)

Merlin (1998)

Kaamelott (2005-09)

Starz Camelot (2011)

[ufonaut]

"a disaster beyond description" - the parallax view on parallax (& coast city's destruction)

i've often talked about the importance of pre-parallax retcon hal jordan, what a radical move his downfall had been for an art medium so uniquely focused on status quo and how much walking that back in post-2005 continuity damaged the character & his development. however, something i've become increasingly interested in lately is the outsider point of view on the magnitude of coast city's destruction and hal's descent into madness -- the reverberations of one of the darkest days in the dcu were far and wide for a good long while there but rarely acknowledged outside of nostalgia pieces nowadays and even more rarely understood as a thoroughly visceral, well-written, well-planned arc that intentionally portrayed the superhero world as largely unsympathetic to the trauma of one of their own but the average civilian as grappling with that loss nearly on the same scale that hal did.

to that effect, i thought i would show a highlights reel of this outsider POV and how much it adds to the weight of the pre-2005 story. while i've accepted some tie-ins to major events (ie zero hour 1994, final night 1996), this will feature titles entirely unrelated to green lantern presented in real life chronological order by publication date in order to showcase the impact that's compelled me so (that's no convergence: green lantern, no legends of the dcu #33-36, etc).

"every office, every home, every school and hospital is atomized. the west coast and its entire ecosystem is instantaneously shattered-- and more than seven million men, women and children that once called the coast city area home-- die."

to set the scene, the explosion that destroys coast city actually appears in superman 1987 #80 (cover date: aug 1993) as part of hank henshaw and mongul's plan.

the destruction had spread as far as santa barbara & the los padres national forest. getting closer to ground zero, hank henshaw also proceeds to resolutely take care of a handful of the sole survivors:

(adventures of superman 1987 #503, cover date: aug 1993)

you all know the reading order here. past the return of superman and the events of emerald twilight, the first outsiders to have gotten the news are the darkstars

whose immediate course of action is to brand hal jordan a criminal (darkstars #23, cover date: aug 1994)

and as zero hour-induced temporal anomalies keep coming up, the darkstars start seriously considering further tampering with time in order to prevent "the creation of a power-mad monster" (darkstars #24, cover date: sept 1994).

it's a sentiment that the majority of hal's justice league colleagues share, as zero hour: crisis in time and the final night both tell us, but a more sympathetic view comes two years later in the spectre 1992 #47 (cover date: nov 1996)

and a more neutral one from waverider in superman: the doomsday wars #2 (cover date: dec 1998)

interestingly enough, more details of the in-universe perception of hal's actions comes from deadman: dead again

where we learn that "sources close to the JLA" have actually issued a press statement naming hal as wholly responsible for the green lantern corps massacre, with no hint that they've been equally forthcoming about the motive behind his actions (deadman: dead again #4, cover date: oct 2001)

the last pre-retcon word goes to superman: day of doom #3 (cover date: jan 2003), a sobering portrayal of the immense horror of coast city's annihilation and subsequently a look into the reality that had made hal snap:

post-retcon, nostalgia pieces like dcu: legacies #8 (feb 2011) and dc retroactive: superman - the 80s (oct 2011) both treat the mad-with-grief version of the story as the truth -- as does the 2015 convergence event --but outside of these few instances, the tour de force of storytelling that is this years-long arc has been cast aside in favor of an unnecessary retcon. as the zero hour: crisis in time 30th anniversary approaches, i'd say it's just the right time to remember that hal (unrepentant hal, power-hungry hal, hell-bent on making everything right hal) had had a perfectly proportional reaction to the tragedy he'd endured, if not outright a justified one.

[neim-batteries-not-included]

what is the mechanisms and where do i start (ive seen you posting about it and it sounds cool)

I FUCKING CACKLED WHEN THIS CAME THROUGH AHFVSHFFSJFBUE !!!!!

Ok so the Mechanisms are essentially a “storytelling musical cabaret” band of immortal space pirates

(Their about page is here)

The cast at its height was made up of nine performers, including some of the people involved in TMA (Jonny Sims, Jessica Law (Nikola), Frank Voss (Basira), and Tim Ledsam (Jordan Kennedy)).

They rework myths n traditional stories into more sci-fi esque narratives (eg the Odyssey/Greek mythology, Arthurian legend, Norse mythology, etc) and incorporate versions of songs (the ones that came to mind is The Rocky Road To Dublin (which became Favoured Son). There’s a focus on the characters that narrate/play the people in the stories they’re telling- these being the Mechanisms themselves.

Without going into a massive lore dump, they were all (bar two) made immortal by Dr Carmilla with metal body parts (eg the heart, the lungs, the eyes). So you’re not completely confused with who’s who, have a cast list + their mechanism:

Jonny d’Ville- played by Jonny Sims- captain first mate- the heart

Nastya Rasputina- anonymous actor- engineer- the blood

Ivy Alexandria- played by Morgan Wilkinson (Morgan uses he/him, Ivy she/her)- archivist- the brain

Ashes O’Reilly- played by Frank Voss- quartermaster- the lungs

Drumbot Brian (my personal favourite)- played by Ben Below- pilot- everything but the heart

Toy Soldier- played by Jessica Law- “we don’t know what it does, but it’s here and it won’t go away”- everything but the voice (it stole its voice)

Gunpowder Tim- played by Tim Ledsam- gunner/master at arms- the eyes

“Baron” Marius von Raum- played by Kofi Young (they/them, Marius generally referred to with he/him)- ship’s “doctor”- the right arm

Raphaella la Cognizi- played by R L Hughes- science officer- the wings

(The last two are the ones that weren’t mechanised by the doctor (their actors joined the ensemble slightly later))

Nastya left around 2015 and the Toy Soldier wasn’t in the Bifrost Incident, though was present for Tales To Be Told Vol. 2 and Death To The Mechanisms.

In terms of where to start, I’d recommend Once Upon A Time (In Space), which is their first recorded album. You can also find the live performance on YouTube (if you’d like a link let me know)

It might be an idea to start with the song Tales To Be Told (they played some variation of it at the start of every live show) from the Death To The Mechanisms album (here). This introduces you to most of the cast + the band as a concept.

After OUATIS I’d suggest going chronologically- Ulysses Dies at Dawn (UDAD), Tales To Be Told Vol. 1 (TTBT), High Noon Over Camelot (HNOC), Frankenstein (single), The Bifrost Incident (TBI), Tales To Be Told Vol. 2, and then finishing with Death To The Mechanisms (DTTM) (live album).

There’s some fiction written by the cast on their website, should be ok to find but if you need a hand/want to know where to start with those let me know. And if you want fanfic recs >:3 (get to grips with the music first though).

I love the mechanisms, they’re fucken great fun- watch their live shit on YouTube if you can (I have so many saved so if you want some, again, let me know).

(Also there’s some brilliant mechs artists on here, take a dive into the tag if you have the time.)

Good luck!!!

[yen-sids-tournament]

Animated 2: Return to Neverland v The Pirate Fairy v Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast

Return to Never Land {originial-Peter Pan (1953)} *spoilers?*

It follows Wendy's canonical daughter Jane, in every version of the story where Peter returns to the Darling's window, he meets Jane, and this story gives her her own adventure. with Wendy as a turn of the century child, it isn't too much of a stretch to assume Jane would be growing up in the middle of a deeply contentious time in British History, that being the London bombings of World War 2, and Unlike Wendy, whom needed to understand that she didn't WANT to never grow up and embrace her coming maturity as it arrives, Jane had been thrown into a position in her family where she had needed to grow up too fast, and in her trip to Neverland understand the importance of that child-like wonder she had nearly lost. As such, she starts out deeply skeptical and frustrated by the nonsensical nature of Neverland, and being more trusting of adults than of children whose attempts of 'playing with her' were little more than bullying with the thin veneer of 'just a game', which ultimately allows her to be manipulated by Hook. But even then manages to grow attached to the lost boys and connect with Peter and due to her inability to fly for most of the movie had almost fully integrated into the world of Neverland and became the first Lost Girl by the time of the third act. While it's held back by the painfully early 00's music it's ultimately a very compelling story about a child in a deeply traumatizing situation finding temporary haven in a place untouched by the war that had so deeply distorted her worldview and ultimately reclaiming her right to have a childhood after constant danger of death and destruction had nearly wrenched it from her entirely. (also there's no racist Native American stereotypes that exist just for the sake of themselves and could have easily been some sort of fantasy species but nahhh it was the 50s so native americans were SUPER okay to be racist about/s)

The Pirate Fairy {original-Tinker Bell (2008)}

>none submitted<

Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast {original Tinker Bell (2008)}

It centres around Fawn aka the best Disney Fairy, KT Tunstell did the soundtrack which absolutely slaps and is unironically on my main playlist to this day. It made me cry when i watched it for the first and subsequent times. Its just so sweet and wholesome. Also apparently spice girl Mel B voiced a minor character in the UK release??? The voice casting alone makes this one of the franchises and films of all time.

[marybeatriceofmodena]

Trading Site Reopening and Gifting Spree!

So. After weeks of work (*insert alpaca scream here*), my trading site is open for trading! To celebrate, I decided to gift a few audios and videos from Phantom of the Opera, a few audios from Les Misérables, two cast recordings from Elisabeth das Musical, and a cast recording for Sweeney Todd. Enjoy!

(If you're the master of a listed audio/video, please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want me to remove your stuff from the list.)

POTO audios

Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (alt.), Steve Barton October 10, 1987; London Michael Crawford and Steve Barton's last in London. Soundboard, very good quality, and this one is complete. And Rebecca Caine sounds amazing in it (as she always does). https://www.mediafire.com/file/pttrjfqzb84gatm/POTO_West_End_10-10-1987_-_Crawford%252C_Caine%252C_Barton.rar/file Steve Barton, Rebecca Luker, Gary Lindemenn (u/s),  Marilyn Caskey, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Leila Martin September 26, 1990; Broadway Soundboard audio. Because Steve Barton was almost as good of a Phantom as he was as Raoul, and Rebecca Luker is a legend (RIP). https://www.mediafire.com/file/xc9ywojtdesptje/POTO_Broadway_26-09-1990_-_Barton%252C_Luker%252C_Lindemenn.rar/file Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin October 5, 1996; Broadway Davis Gaines's last performance. Because Davis Gaines has one of the best voices I've heard in the role. https://www.mediafire.com/file/w1ybvl8v6e4ex6r/POTO_Broadway_05-01-1996_-_Gaines%252C_Shayne%252C_Little.rar/file Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel, DC Anderson, David Cryer, Patti  Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray, Jimmy Smagula December 5, 2003; Los Angeles Lisa Vroman’s second-to-last performance as Christine. Both she and Brad Little are glorious vocal-wise. https://www.mediafire.com/file/muavx4ocvs62eav/POTO_US_Tour_05-12-2003_-_Little%252C_Vroman%252C_Gleason.rar/file Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles, Andrea Creighton, John O'May, Derek Taylor, Jackie Rees, Nadia Komazec, David Rogers-Smith August 15, 2007; Melbourne Not the biggest fan of Anthony Warlow acting-wise, but he does not disappoint on the vocals - and neither does Julie Goodwin. https://www.mediafire.com/file/3pm0ksips30n3it/POTO_Melbourne_15-08-2007_-_Warlow%252C_Goodwin%252C_Bowles.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Katie Hall, Simon Bailey, Angela M. Caesar, Andy Hockley, Simon Green, Elizabeth Mars, Hannah Cadec, Vincent Pirillo September 29, 2012; Edinburgh Not the biggest fan of the restaged tour, but... Katie Hall's "Tears of HAAAAAATE" is pretty great. And John Owen-Jones! https://www.mediafire.com/file/00vtvziy172lpkv/POTO_UK_Tour_29-09-2012_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Hall%252C_Bailey.rar/file Hugh Panaro, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Jeremy Hays March 3, 2014; Broadway Great trio overall, but Elizabeth Welch is a standout (to me at least). https://www.mediafire.com/file/1hc1ozi96vok5pd/POTO_Broadway_03-03-2014_-_Panaro%252C_Welch%252C_Hays.rar/file Dmitry Ermak, Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Alexei Bobrov, Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeria Migalina, Rustim Bahtiyarov (u/s) July 16, 2015; Moscow A lovely production that I miss - Tamara Kotova in particular is great. https://www.mediafire.com/file/w56tx5d7fkh4kse/POTO_Moscow_16-07-2015_-_Ermak%252C_Kotova%252C_Zaytsev.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Celinde Schoenmaker, Nadim Naaman, Megan Llewellyn, Michael Matus, Christopher Dickens, Jacinta Mulcahy, Alicia Beck, John Ellis September 7, 2015; London First performance of the 2015-2016 cast. https://www.mediafire.com/file/5hswf44ldku6ngm/POTO_West_End_07-09-2015_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Schoenmaker%252C_Naaman.rar/file Peter Jöback, Emmi Christensson, Anton Zetterholm, Karolina Andresson, Glenn Kjellberg, Rolf Lydhal, Sanna Martin, Tehilla Blad, Sindre Postholm March 19, 2017; Stockholm Given Christine is from Sweden, it's only fair to include the recent Stockholm production. https://www.mediafire.com/file/zkl38t9388gcvh7/POTO_Sweden_2017-03-19_PJ_EC_AZ.wav/file Tim Howar, Amy Manford, Jeremy Taylor, Kimberly Blake, Ross Dawes, Alan Vicary, Jacinta Mulcahy, Georgia Ware, Paul Ettore Tabone September 7, 2019; London This one is different from the one listed as NFT (so don't get mad at me, haha). Last performance for Amy Manford in the West End production. https://www.mediafire.com/file/vf60ie1er18rkon/POTO_West_End_07-09-2019_-_Howar%252C_Manford%252C_Taylor.rar/file Ben Crawford, Meghan Picerno, John Riddle October 26, 2019 Because we all love a Christine with opera chops. https://www.mediafire.com/file/9gji0khgfoazjqd/POTO_Broadway_26-10-2019_-_Crawford%252C_Picerno%252C_Riddle.rar/file 

POTO videos

Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, Wendy Ferguson, David Lawrence (u/s), Sam Hiller, Emily Harvey (u/s), Heidi Ann O'Brien, Rohan Tickell January 2006 VOB format.  If you want to see Earl in London right now but can't... this video is the best quality overall that features him, and Rachel Barrell is a fantastic Christine - one of my favorites in the role. https://mega.nz/folder/u09GQKyR#gjNHj4Letd9YInTsuLowjA Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, John Jellison, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray, John Whitney April 6, 2006; Dallas VOB format.  For my Eristine moots (I see you!): Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard were (and as far as I know, still are) married while performing as the Phantom and Christine, and you thought Ramin and Sierra's chemistry was off the charts, think again. https://mega.nz/folder/PtExxS5A#D4yyf2g_lXoN-cIDPkMU2Q Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Tina Walsh, Brianne Kelly Morgan, Larry Wayne Morbitt August 8, 2008; Las Vegas VOB format. This is the Las Vegas Spectacular production, which is abriged compared to the original but totally worth seeing. If you want to understand why I love Meg Giry so much, Brianne Kelly Morgan is one of the best I've ever seen in the role. Also, if you’re meh about Raoul... with Andrew Ragone, think again. He’s one of the most Superman/Clark Kent Raouls I’ve seen. And I really like Kristi Holden’s Leroux-esque Christine too.  https://mega.nz/folder/Sh1zxSAB#twtXau8Y8pd_L9tMQLa4Mg Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein, Christian Sebek March 9, 2013 VOB format. Missing part of Act 1 (‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’ to Il Muto), but otherwise complete. This is one of the best trios I've seen on Broadway, and Samantha Hill is just a fantastic Christine overall. https://mega.nz/folder/y1slyJRD#OP1Tp5Cj_fMk9LbAWJMqAA Tomas Ambt Kofod, Sibylle Glosted, Christian Lund, Louise Fribo, Carl Christian Rasmussen, Sebastian Harris, Elisabeth Halling, Imogen-Lilly Ash, Rasmus Jupin March 2019; Copenhagen VOB format. This one is more recent, but given it's been uploaded on YouTube, I guess it's fine to gift it (again, if you’re the master and you want me to remove this, please let me know).This one has one of the best casts ever caught on tape. Seriously. Everyone in this is a star. https://mega.nz/folder/q40hTagI#Zui14MWo-F2YSQ0gNdaL6Q



Les Mis Audios

Colm Wilkinson, Roger Allam, Patti LuPone, Alun Armstrong, Sue Jane Tanner, Michael Ball, Frances Ruffele, Rebecca Caine, David Burt 1985; London Preview at the Barbican Centre. This is interesting since it includes Cosette's song "I Saw Him Once", which has been cut later.  https://www.mediafire.com/file/jbedqiemuk9qnd1/Les_Mis_West_End_1985_-_Wilkinson%252C_Allam.rar/file Symphonic recording (1989)  Gary Morris, Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Michael Ball, Tracy Shayne, Kaho Shimada, Anthony Warlow, Barry James, Gay Soper https://www.mediafire.com/file/n7gp30jcpnjfkf7/Les_Miserables_Symphonic_Recording.rar/file Kyle Jean-Baptiste (u/s), Earl Carpenter, Erika Henningsen, Chris McCarrell, Samantha Hill, Brennyn Lark, Max Quinlan (u/s), Gavin Lee, Rachel Izen August 13, 2015; Broadway For Kyle Jean-Baptiste, who was an amazing performer gone way too soon. RIP. https://www.mediafire.com/file/fzj2qubunkrrfhc/Les_Mis_Broadway_13-08-2015_-_Jean-Baptiste%252C_Carpenter.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Michael Ball, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Craig Mather (u/s), Lily Kerhoas, Shan Ako, Bradley Jaden, Matt Lucas, Katy Secombe, Earl Carpenter October 16, 2019; London All-star concert! https://www.mediafire.com/file/nh28zdry93vhry2/Les_Mis_London_Concert_16-10-2019_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Ball.rar/file

Elisabeth das Musical

Original Cast Recording (1992) Pia Douwes, Uwe Kroeger, Ethan Freeman, Andreas Bieber, Viktor Gernot, Else Ludwig https://www.mediafire.com/file/fagi9ctooeq2y11/Elisabeth-Original_German_Cast.rar/file Vienna revival cast recording (2006)  Maya Hakvoort, Mate Kamaras, Serkan Kaya, André Bauer, Fritz Schmid, Else Ludwig https://www.mediafire.com/file/7wpqbotp8oszzz3/Elisabeth_-_2006_Vienna_Cast.rar/file



Sweeney Todd

2000 Concert Cast Recording George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Davis Gaines, Heidi Grant Murphy, Paul Plishka, Audra McDonald, Standford Olsen, Neil Patrick Harris, John Aler Pretty sure this isn't on Spotify, which is a real shame given its cast. So enjoy! EDIT: Someone pointed out to me that the recording is incomplete - probably a result of the Great Hardware Crash of 2016, so until I get the full version, this will probably stay incomplete. Sorry about that! https://www.mediafire.com/file/ywoiqe5bnlzr7bs/Sweeney_Todd_2000_New_York_Concert_Cast.rar/file

[not-that-syndrigast]

Stucky fanfic recs

below you can find some of my all time favourite Stucky fics that have ruined my life 💕 not really sorted except for the first three which are my all time favourites

creative | canon adjacent | AU | modern AU | small steve | sexual content

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015)

The Associated Press @AP

Winter Soldier set to stand trial for Washington D.C. massacre and treason apne.ws/1og6SWE

(Creative, canon adjacent)

End OTW Racism | Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film

“Heil Hydra,” the enemy agent shouts.

“Heil this, motherfucker,” says Captain America, shooting off a rocket.

Steve and Bucky find out Hollywood has been busy since they went away. A historical survey, including but not limited to: one set of exploded genitals, a brief interlude in France, Mel Gibson and other masterworks of casting, eight Academy awards, several dinosaurs, and something Tony Stark has ominously dubbed “the masterpiece.” Art included.

(creative, canon adjacent)

A long winter

In 1945, Steve Rogers jumps from a nosediving plane and swims through miles of Arctic Ocean to a frozen shore.

In 1947, Steve Rogers marries Peggy Carter.

In 1966, the New York Times finds the lost letters of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.

(AU)

Just say you do

Steve just wanted a job. He wasn't expecting a marriage proposal. And he certainly wasn't expecting to accept.

(Modern AU, small Steve)

ain't no grave (can keep my body down)

It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.

For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.

I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.

Steve sits down hard on the steps.

(Canon adjacent)

casual encounters

“You have never once been careful in your entire life.” Bucky huffs out a laugh. He looks away. “Maybe I’m offended you didn’t think to ask me.” He says it like a joke, but he can’t bring himself to laugh again.

“Bucky,” Steve says, scandalized. “You’re my friend. I’m not gonna use you to experiment sexually.”

(Modern AU, small Steve, sexual content)

If they haven't learned your name

Steve gets out of the hospital in two days, but just barely. “I’m fine,” he tells Sam, Nurse Eunjung and the phalanx of doctors assigned to make sure Captain America didn’t bleed out and die and get bad PR all over their nice clean hospital. “I have an advanced healing factor. It’s fine. See? I’m standing.”

“That is not standing,” Sam tells him.

“You’re bending the IV stand,” Nurse Eunjung adds pointedly. “Let go and sit down, they don’t grow on trees.”

aka Steve and Bucky's Global Honeymoon Revenge World Tour.

(Canon adjacent)

choices we're given

Steve Rogers is a good man and a good agent. There's really no excuse for the assassin in his bed.

(Modern AU, sexual content)

through the woods

There’s a legend in Mansewood, nearly as old as the town itself, about a pack of werewolves that once lived in the forest. They say only one survives; a monstrous and snarling beast with fur like a blizzard and fangs the size of daggers. They say it guards the lands and all creatures in it, and no hunter has faced it and lived to tell the tale.

Steve doesn’t care about any of that. He only wants to know if it prefers T-Bone or ribeye, and would it please stop tracking dirt through his house? He just mopped the floor.

(Modern AU, sexual content)

[blackmoonlightexpress]

TTEOTM Creative Team: What else did they work on?

For those who are a bit underwhelmed by the summer drama options or still dreaming about TTEOTM! 😎

Kuk Kok Leung (Lead Director)

Kuk Kok Leung is a veteran director who started his career in Hong Kong's TVB. He's been nominated for the prestigious Magnolia Award and is known for wuxia and serious, warm-blooded historical dramas (he's adapted 7 out of 8 Jinyong novels). His works include...

Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983) as Assistant Director, with Felix Wong and Barbara Yung

The Duke of Mount Deer (1984), with Tony Leung & Andy Lau

Return of the Condor Heros (1983) with Andy Lau & Idy Chan

Legend of the Condor Heroes (2002) with Li Yapeng & Zhou Xun

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003), with Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, and Liu Yifei

Water Margin (2011), nominated for Magnolia Award

Cool Sword (2013), with Julian Cheung & Wallace Chung

The Patriot Fei Yue (2013), with Huang Xiaoming & Ruby Lin

The Stand-In (2014), with Wallace Chung

The General and I (2016), with Wallace Chung and Angelababy

He's also a frequent collaborator and producer on Johnny To films, including Election, Election 2, Mad Detective.

So you get the picture. He makes TV for men who are ready to bleed for their country. This all makes him a really interesting choice for TTEOTM (and tells you a bit about the ambition and creative vision of the producers), especially since all his more recent idol dramas were widely panned.

Wang Haiqi, Director & Action Director

We don't know too much about Wang Haiqi because TTEOTM is actually his directorial debut. He started his career in stunts and has worked as the action coordinator on Ashes of Love (2018) and Immortality (unreleased) alongside Luo Yunxi. He was also a stunts man/double in a bunch of Hollywood films, including Mulan (2020) and the Foreigner (2017) through the Jacky Chan stunts team.

He's responsible for most of the action/battle scenes in TTEOTM, and his experience working on films probably explains why the fight sequences are unusually cinematic for TV.

Luan Hexin, Art Director

Luan Hexin is a Magnolia Award nominated art director best known for Huanyu productions, including Story of Yanxi Palace, Winter Begonia, and Royal Feast. He's a serious art guy, as you can tell from this interview.

(Note: Huanyu is Bai Lu's management company. There is a rumor that Luan Hexin is part of Bai Lu's "dowry", but the parties have since clarified that Luan was brought in after she was cast.)

He's also an interesting choice, having never worked on costume fantasies before and better known for his authentic representation of the look and feel of bygone eras.

Huang Wei, Costume Designer

Huang Wei is one of the most sought-after costume designers working today, especially for xianxias. She started her career as a Vogue China editor and was in fact the person responsible for TTEOTM's Dunhuang-inspired aesthetics.

Her better known works include A Dream of Splendor (2022), One and Only (2020), Love O2O (2015), Back from the Brink (2023) as well as a bunch of highly anticipated dramas like Immortality and The Last Immortal. (The joke on Chinese internet is that there is an "expensive" vs. "cheap" version of Huang Wei costumes - her design can be much simpler on lower-budget productions.)

I'd like to think that after designing 40 mostly white costumes for Luo Yunxi in Immortality, she decided to go nuts on color with Tantai Jin.

Tsang Ming Fai, Makeup Designer

Tsang Ming Fai is a big name in the xianxia circuit. He and his team of “students" have worked on a large number of costume dramas, including Ashes of Love (2018), Love & Redemption (2020), Under the Power (2019), Noble Aspirations (2016), Sword of Legends (2014), as well as the... wait for it... unreleased Immortality and Luo Yunxi's currently filming drama Follow Your Heart.

He's sadly been receiving a lot of hate in fan circles over the heavy makeup in TTEOTM (which may or may not have been his call). What I do appreciate is his ability to help actors craft distinct characters with varied hair and makeup choices. For example you can distinguish between different Luo Yunxi characters and their personalities with Runyu's clean cut tie-back half ponytail (ethereal & straight laced), Tantai Jin's slightly brown hair, messy bangs and heavy eye shadow (dark & sickly), Chu Wanning's angular eyebrows and geometric hair puff (strict & proud).

He also excels at creating unusual, iconic looks even for side characters, e.g. Chen Yao's dark lipstick paired with gothic jewelry in Immortality and Chen Duling's retro updo in TTEOTM.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Marin Mazzie in Caricature

"Passion," Published July 25, 1994 - Al Hirschfeld

Pictured: Marin Mazzie, reclining nude, and Jere Shea

"Passion," Published August 21, 1994 - Al Hirschfeld

Pictured: Jere Shea, Donna Murphy, Marin Mazzie

"Ragtime," Published January 25, 1998 - Al Hirschfeld

Also featured: Peter Friedman, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and the original cast of Ragtime.

"Kiss Me, Kate," Published November 14, 1999 - Al Hirschfeld

Pictured: Brian Stokes Mitchel and Marin Mazzie

Marin has been the subject of four Hirschfelds, some of which you've already seen in these posts. Though PBS may have made the sad decision to censor Marin's big nude scene in the professional taping of Passion, Al Hirschfeld had no qualms about depicting her in the way she was meant to be. I do think, however, even in his final attempt, he was never able to accurately capture the sheer size of this woman's mouth.

Pictured: Husband Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie, 2010

Marin was honored with a Sardis caricature in 2000 during her Tony-nominated run in Kiss Me, Kate, and ten years later, she returned when her husband Jason received his. At the time, they were starring as the husband-wife duo in Next to Normal. While the expanse of her mouth is certainly featured, it's still not quite what I'd expect.

Pictured: L: Marin Mazzie and the cast of Next to Normal, 2010 | R: Marin Mazzie and Daniel Dae Kim, The King and I, 2016

Pictured: L: Marin Mazzie & Jason Danieley benefiting the Cancer Support Community, super rare, 2018 | R: Marin Mazzie in portrait, Autumn 2015

At last, someone was able to do justice to Marin's signature mouth size. Like Carol Channing, Marin's mouth is the stuff of Broadway legend. Sources even say that when she was younger, she'd put her whole fist in it as a party trick.

Pictured: L: Tribute to Marin Mazzie, commissioned, 2018 |

"The day Marin passed, I got an email asking me to pay tribute. I don’t want to seem dramatic, but since Marin is a friend, I was in the midst of my own small grieving process, so I used the assignment as part of it all. This was the result. We will always think of Marin when we see sunflowers." - Justin "Squigs" Robertson

[kryptic-psychotic]

"Essential Reading"

"We are Robin (2015) #1-12 written by Lee Bermejo, art by Khary Randolph

Robin War (2016) written by Various Writers, art by Various Artists

Dark Days: The Forge (2017) #1 & The Casting (2017) #1 written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV art by Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, and John Romita Jr.

Batman and The Signal (2018) #1-3 story by Scott Snyder, written by Tony Patrick, art by Cully Hamner

Immortal Men (2018) #1-6 written by James Tynion IV, art by Ryan Benjamin & Jim Lee

Batman & the Outsiders (2019) #1-17 written by Bryan Edward Hill, art by Dexter Soy & Veronica Gandini

Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King (2020) #1 [the back-up] written by Tony Patrick art by Danial Sampere

Tales from The Dark Multiverse: METAL (2020) #1 written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly art by Karl Mostert

The Next Batman (2021) #1 & #3 written by Brandon Thomas art by Sumit Kumar

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #8 & #9 written by Brandon Thomas art by Cian Tormey

Batman: Urban Legends (2022) #18 & #19 written by Brandon Thomas art by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque"

[traincat]

sorry for the weird question, your post got recommended to me and i know little to nothing about fantastic four, but what's up w/ ben and judaism(?) (if youve said something on this before or there's other info on it feel free to just link to whatever. im mostly just curious!)

What's up with Ben and Judaism is that Ben Grimm is Jewish. There's a long history here -- I'll give you the short overview. The character has been pretty heavily coded as Jewish since the early 1960s (Fantastic Four debuted in 1961), although this was not outright stated until 2002. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, who are both Jewish (and I'm not going to argue about Stan Lee's relationship to his heritage on this post, but I will state that Stan Lee being Jewish clearly informed his world view regardless of his personal feelings about his heritage, culture, and ethnicity, or his personal relationship or adherence to them), clearly intended for Ben to be Jewish, but could at the time only coyly hint at it or depict it through subtext.

Ben featured on Kirby's personal family Hanukkah card in the '70s, depicted in yarmulke, reading from a Jewish prayer book. So while he was not able to directly address this during their run on Fantastic Four, it's clear that Jack Kirby, as Ben's co-creator, meant for Ben to be canonically Jewish.

Moreover, Ben's design is obviously very influenced by the Jewish legend of the golem, a man-shaped construct made of clay brought to life, and a protector of the Jewish people. Ben's rocky body is a direct callback to the golem.

Ben was directly and canonically addressed as Jewish in Fantastic Four v3 #56. Since then, his ethnicity and religion have been regularly addressed in the comics.

(Marvel Holiday Magazine)

While the 2005-2007 Fantastic Four movies didn't address Ben's heritage, the 2015 movie had a mezuzah on the door of the Grimm household and a menorah prominently featured in the background. They didn't, however, cast a Jewish actor to play Ben, and given the MCU's general failure to cast Jewish actors to play Jewish characters, this is a point of concern for many Jewish fans about the upcoming MCU Fantastic Four movie.

So the long and short of it is, Ben Grimm is Jewish! And that's something to celebrate, and given that at the moment we're seeing a lot of Jewish erasure and antisemitism in fandom, it's also something to be very loud about. Thank you for asking and I hope that helps!

[paradoxicwashere]

The Flash makes no sense

As in the 2023 Movie, for many reasons that have been discussed elsewhere in far greater detail. But this is my personal Breaking Point.

During the movie, Barry Allen (in name only) travels back in time and accidentally ends up in 2013, the year he got his powers a few days before the events of Man Of Steel.

This implies Barry was The Flash for a full 3-4 years before the events of Batman V Superman and, for the sake of continuity with the Chronobowl sequence, Zack Snyder's Justice Leauge.

During those 4 years he has apparently made no progress in either his personal life or his career as a Superhero, the only notable villain he ever encounters is Captain Boomerang, and is an urban legend until sometime after ZSJL. He also hasn't met Iris or seemingly any of his supporting cast and is for all intents and purposes an awkward loner. Fine.

THEN: We get to The Flash 2023, which marks the Cardinal Sin. When Barry goes back to 2013 he *specifically* states that his past self is 10 years younger than him. It's not a guess based on appearance, he knows he is in 2013. And It has been 10 years.

10 Years, and this Flash is still an awkward, insecure, loner who barley *meets* Iris at the start of this movie. What has he been doing FOR A DECADE?!

By Comparison: The Barry Allen of the Flash CW, near and dear to my heart as terrible as it may be in later seasons, has been around since 2014, and the show ended in 2023, about a month before the Flash Movie premiered. Here is a list of the things he has accomplished, by year.

Time Travelled and Defeated the Reverse Flash (2014)

Saved his father from Prison and was given a Key to the City (2015)

His Dad died so he did Flashpoint, also got with with Iris (2016)

Got married to Iris West (2017)

Met his time travelling future daughter (2018)

Fought in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, met Ezra-Flash (2019)

Became faster than the Reverse Flash (2021)

Was doomed to destroy the world, saved it (again) (2022)

Went back in time to the night his mother died, now on the other side of the event as the Future Flash, AND beat his 5 fastest villains who all teamed up to kick his ass (2023)

CW Barry was MARRIED TO THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, in LESS TIME, than it took Movie-Barry to take on The Flash as his name, BECAUSE CW BARRY TOLD HIM ABOUT IT IN CRISIS.

God the DCEU is dumb.

[headcanonsandcupcakes]

My Thoughts on NATLA :)

Sorry that this wasnt posted yesterday as I had promised, but life got in the way and I wanted to write it without feeling rushed. And I want to preface this by saying that I am not the biggest blogger on ATLA, nor does my opinion truly matter, however, ATLA has meant a lot to me since I discovered it 4 years ago. It is the reason I reopened up my Tumblr since not touching it since 2015 (I know, I'm old). In addition to this, I have also been closely following the live action coverage since 2020 (thanks to the Avatarist on YouTube), so I feel the need to say something about it.

Now with that out of the way, below are my thoughts: The biggest criticism that I have seen is that the plot felt rushed, and most people that are using this point to criticize the live action are not noting that the show was only greenlit 8 episodes. In addition, the show was only greenlit for 1 season, making the writing process incredibly hard to make sure that fans were happy but also getting the main points across. Book 1 of ATLA appears to be considered the weakest season by many of the fans. And as someone who started watching this show back in 2020, I completely agree. There were many filler episodes, and there were some writing aspects that appeared to be all over the place. It should also be noted that Bryke was unsure if they would get another season, so they also had the same struggles as the NATLA showrunner/writers had. However, it appears as though many are holding the live action to a higher standard than the cartoon instead of realizing that both had their challenges. Another point that seems to be criticized is the acting. I think people seem to forget that most of the main cast were kids/teenagers that did not work in many roles besides this one. So of course, we arent going to get an outstanding performance. Lastly, another point that I have seen around the internet is the argument that, "this is why the creators left". Okay, I get it, to not have the creators involved in the series could be reflected as troublesome for sure, however, I think those making this argument seem to forget that Bryke are not perfect either. For one, they executive produced the abomination that is the 2010 film, and were gassing the movie up until the movie was released and was received poorly. Additionally, they also were heavily involved in Legend of Korra and look at how that turned out. So, what do I think of the show? Well, perhaps it is because I found this show later in life and I am not blinded to the nostalgia factor, but I personally loved this adaptation. To me, the changes that were made felt so necessary in order to get the plot moving, as well as please the OG fans, and also ensure that new fans can understand the lore. I also feel like they did capture most of Book 1 and you can tell that they cared about the source material. I also went into watching this with a very open mind and understood that this was an adaptation, not a carbon copy (which was constantly hammered by the showrunner multiple times but still seems to surprise people). I also feel as though you cant make everyone happy. The best analogy I can think of is the Lion King live action. People were upset that it was a 1:1 adaptation and didnt make any changes. I cannot help but think that if NATLA did take that 1:1 route, people would be upset that no changes were made. The SFX and the fan service that was given to us was so good, and it was nice to see Koizilla in live action. Now, I wont say the show was perfect. There were some clunky aspects and the dialogue could use some work, but to me I think they did a good job for what they were given (episode lengths and unsure of a season renewal). I think should they get a season 2 (fingers crossed), Netflix needs to give it at least 10-12 episodes. I mean, if somehow Orange is the New Black had 13 episodes for most of their seasons, why cant an exception be made for this franchise?

My favorite episode was by far episode 6. As someone whose favorite character is Zuko, I guess I'm biased, but I loved everything about this episode and the Pohuai Stronghold escape was so cool to see. I also think that Bumi's characterization made sense in this live action - I know this is a hot take but I feel like realistically, someone that has dealt with 100 years of war would be jaded and angry and hold some resentment. Again, maybe its because I am not blinded by the nostalgia but I thought it made sense. Additionally, I think it was very smart to include Azula in this version. We have to remember that Azula is a teenager just like Zuko and is manipulated by Ozai. To see her struggle and feel insecure doesnt inhibit her character to me. In fact, I think it sets the stage for when she eventually has that mental breakdown, it will make more sense and people will sympathize her more.

I know this is all over the place but I really hope we get a season 2. I think that all the criticisms aside (if you weed out the nitpicking), the NATLA team can make a great season 2.