#THAT GROVER SONG WAS TOTALLY A MUSICAL REFERENCE

[nerd-in-distress]

A Lighting Thief Musical reference in my Percy Jackson Disney+????????

[spacefaegoddess]

The Lightning Thief - Cut Tracks

Listen up.

Camp Half Blood

- okay let me preface this by saying that for some reason this song won’t download so I’m going off the itunes preview

- but wow this song screams Camp Half Blood

- starts with something about how you know you’re at camp if there’s fire or a flood like big mood guys

- “Camp Half-Blood, where only half of us survive! Camp Half-Blood, be glad you’re still alive!” GUYS THIS IS TOO REAL

- it reminds me of that one post comparing CHB and CJ like “yeah you can go to college and live in New Rome at Camp Jupiter so its pretty nice” “WELCOME TO CAMP HALF BLOOD, YOULL DIE WITHIN THE MONTH”

- “this is why no one watches the orientation film” Mr. D never change please, also if that’s a new kid’s orientation to CHB then maybe Mr. D is saving them from intense trauma

Pick a Side 

- I think there was a video of this somewhere, maybe from that live concert where they performed all the song from the show, but man I’m so happy they put this into a final form

- Luke: “we don’t know who stole the bolt” oh sweet baby liar

- Clarisse being ready to fight everyone is fantastic

- “Percy couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag” man I love it when they put book references in there, and even though I’m pretty sure Reyna says it I still love that it’s Clarisse’s line

-”Can’t we just pick flowers and make friendship bracelets” oh Silena no

- Silena: “My mom doesn’t believe in war” Clarisse: “oh yeah? then why does she keep texting my dad?” Luke: “WHOA” this is the content I signed up for

- Luke saying that he hopes Percy completes his quest so that the demigods don’t have to fight a war like.... idk how to feel about this. Is he lying? Does he actually hope that his friends won’t have to fight? Man

- Also Luke telling Silena that they don’t have to fight the gods’ battles like that’s Luke’s entire motivation in one line

- Clarisse and Silena belting “we gotta know just where your loyalties lie” while Luke sings “we don’t have to choose”. I know that the girls are singing it at each other but the fact that Luke is between them and he’s the one who isn’t loyal to the gods or to camp is magnificent. And again Luke saying they don’t have to choose the gods because he’s already chosen against them

- “prissy Percy’s gonna lost his Poseidon adventure!” CLARISSE GIRL

- “well whoever says love is worthless, I’ll pulverize them!” wow Clarisse is already rubbing off on Silena

-I want to know what Luke sings after “It’s their fight” while Clarisse and Silena sing “We’ll make our parents proud, make our voices loud” cause this is a really great moment for Luke’s motives to shine through

- Luke silently singing “I would never help my father” in the background

- All three singing “We’ve got a choice to make, can’t run and hide - you better pick a side” at the same time yet it means something different for all of them. Also it’s Luke finally choosing his side cause I think that’s the first time he sings “pick a side” in the song

- And that harmony at the end? DAM

Try

- okay so like way before the musical was even a thing, there was a video of this song being sung by three people who aren’t in the show, but god it was heartrenching. It’s a little different from the finished product but like Pick a Side, I’m so glad they included this song because it’s so powerful

- the song beginning and ending the same way UGH I LOVE CALLBACKS

- Percy and Annabeth both singing “I already know it, I’ll probably blow it, but I’m going there anyway” THESE KIDS ARE SO STRONG

- this song is so great because as a whole, the musical is kinda upbeat and generally happy except for like Tree on the Hill and kinda Good Kid, but this one shows the main three’s insecurities about the whole adventure. It throws your mind in a whole different direction

- “I may fail you, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t try” I mean come on

- They’re kids. They’re lost and scared and don’t really know what they’re doing, yet they keep pressing on because of each other. They feel like they will fail, but they can all look each other in the eye and say “you know what? at least we have each other and that’s worth it enough for me”

- that small part in the beginning with Percy and Annabeth singing together makes me want a Percabeth duet so bad

- Grover singing “wash my hands of past mistakes” this boy just wants to prove himself so much and Tree on the Hill give me so many feels and just UGH GROVER I LOVE YOU

- Annabeth going from “prove to the gods that I belong” to “I won’t be rejected” is freaking GROWTH

- “He must be protected” GROVER PLEASE

- That three part harmony tho

- “Fight til we’re all in the clear, look my fear in the eye!” do I need to repeat that these kids are so amazingly strong? Because they are

- “The weight of the world’s on my shoulders, like Atlas it’s crushing me down” sick Greek mythology reference bro

- Also during that live concert video I mentioned earlier, they play a cut Annabeth song (which is sadly not here) but it had the Atlas motif too and ugh it gives me all the feels

- okay so the line “we’re not brave, we’re not strong, we’re not soldiers” is a whole thing in itself but it goes so well with the next line

- I wish they had kept the next line the same as the original because it was “but my heart is a drum, and damn does it pound” but now its “my heart’s just a drum and damn does it pound”. I feel like the first one just has something more. Like I might not be brave or strong but I have the heart to get through this

- also in that original video, after the previous thing, Percy sings “I may fail you, I may fail you. If I fail, this will be our last goodbye.” WHY DIDNT THEY KEEP THAT

- “I’m not leaving your side til we find what matters” Annabeth MY GIRL

- “I’m not leaving your side til we’re back home” GROVER

- “I’m not leaving your side til you’re remembered” PERCABETH SHIPPERS HOW WE FEELING TONIGHT

- This trio man. Nothing will ever compare to them

- The fact that the lyrics change from “I may fail you” to “I can’t fail you”

- That last line where they all sing part of the number because they’re in this together now and you literally cannot separate them

- this song is the best and you can fight me on that

In the Same Boat

- or as I like to call it “Grover deals with Percabeth fighting like second graders for five minutes and forty nine seconds”

- this entire song is just a roast fest and Grover suffering

- “wow maybe your mom should’ve totally chilled instead of making monsters that get us all killed” Percy you savage

- Grover’s happy little “ask meeee” he’s so cute

- “I’d like to wrap my hands around that half-blood’s throat” wow guys

- “I don’t need to heed a talking goat” WOW GUYS

- Grover’s goat noises throughout the song

- “why run from monsters when we can rideeee” Grover baby I love you

- the lyrics change depending on what vehicle they’re in

- “with Anna-BLEH” “and Seaweed Brain” guys just kiss already

- Annabeth insulting Percy about his Rocky Mountains comment and Grover just going “wow that is soooo beautiful” 

- this song is just the original “Drive” and I’m not complaining

- Percy and Grover both yelling “SWEET” while Annabeth suffers

- Percy telling Annabeth she can hike instead of ride the motorcycle

- Percy’s sass when he says “oh, I’m sure that’s irrelevant” gods Chris McCarrell is the Percy we always wanted

- “Athena give me strength so I don’t kill him” Annabeth honey, if anything your mom is gonna strike him down for you

- ANNABETH HAVING HER OWN “DREAM”

- “it’s messed up, but he’s kinda cute” Annabeth you have no idea how relatable you truly are

- “And my head is always stronger than my heart” awwwwwww

- “If only he would say something that was remotely smart” when I tell you I cackled for like five mintues its the truth

- Followed immediately by Percy saying “I got it! The map was upside down” and Annabeth just screaming IS A WHOLE BIG MOOD

- When did Charon turn from a disco diva into a 60 year old smoker

- Annabeth calling Percy sexist like yeah girl call him out

- “They’ll kill each other, or they’ll kiss” likely both, Grover

- “If we’re lucky they’ll end up in an abyss” GROVER NO

- that Mark of Athena reference caught me so off guard, my jaw hit the floor

- Grover happily singing over a Percabeth shouting match

- also I wish I could clearly hear what those two are saying

- idk what’s so funny about Percy saying “perspective” in a awe-filled voice but it killed me

- Grover yelling at them to sing the song because reconciliation

- uhhh Jorrel’s voice??? he makes such a great Grover let me tell you

The Wittlest Minotaur

- this was also in that concert they did

- Kristin Stokes is a gift to this world, that is all

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H’s Musical Reactions

[heereandthere]

Best Birthday EVER! (BMC Broadway- May 12th, 2019

So, you remember how I said I was going to see BMC soon? Well, soon meant Sunday! I was surprised with a trip to NYC to see BMC with my family on my birthday!!! I'm officially home now, so I figure it's okay to post about it since I've left NYC already. It was an actual dream come true, and I'm just gonna spend this entire post talking about the trip and this freaking show- (NOTE: If the formatting's weird, I copied and pasted it off of Amino, so have mercy.)

Pre-Show/New York City

-We went on an NYC movie/TV tour and got to go to and learn about a lot of super famous recording places for TV shows and movies, which was AWESOME.

-We went to Ellen's Stardust Diner on the first full day we were there! It's this place where people working towards an acting career on Broadway can work, and the wait staff performs songs and such and they take up donations for vocal and dance lessons!! I wanna work there-

-I got to see the theatres in which "Dear Evan Hansen", "The Book of Mormon", and "Mean Girls: the Musical" are performed!! I didn't go in or anything, but it was still super cool to see where Ben Platt, Andrew Rannells, and Barrett Wilbert Weed worked/work.

-I also saw 54 Below!! Totally by accident, too. We were just walking, and there it was!

-We went to the Lyceum to pick up our tickets the day before the show, and there was a chance I heard THE Stephanie Hsu rehearsing "I Love Play Rehearsal". At first, I thought it was a recording in the lobby, but it seemed too faint for it to be that, though I guess I'll never know!

-If you went and saw this written on the Who's Your Squip wall, that means I was there around the same time!!:

The Show (WARNINGS: Mentions of weed and sexual assault in the show)

-OH MY GOD H O N E Y

-THE SHOW WAS EVERYTHING I'D HOPED FOR AND M O R E

-I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT ALL OF MY FAVORITE PARTS SO IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS PLEASE SKIP AHEAD

-First of all, I was surprised with Squip Zone seats!!!!! I had 0 clue until we were actually at the Lyceum for the show, and suddenly we're just in the very front row??? Holy shit.

-Secondly, Cameron was on for Jake!! He was the only understudy performing that day, but he did an absolutely fantastic job as everyone's favorite jock.

-During MTS, at the point before the second chorus where everyone's in math class, Chloe was trying to argue with Jake and he had his fingers in his ears, mouthing "I'm not listening!"

-Michael's gestures are the best- When Mr. Heere comes in with the "Is that a girl? Are you in here with a girl?", he did this little feminine flaunt thing that I can't even describe to make fun of the fact that he is definitely not a girl. During his and Jeremy's argument in "The Play", he also cheekily hides the Mountain Dew Red behind his back.

-The play rehearsal sign-up sheet has PJO references!! This especially caught my eye because I'm in the middle of "The Last Olympian". The names "Annabeth Chase" and "Luke Castellan" are jotted down on the list, which is especially nice considering George played Grover and Dionysus in the musical adaptation of TLT.

-"Jason Finderman" is also written down!! He was the guy who threw the party and had his house burned down in the original book!!

-I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW JEREMY'S "BOYF" BACKBACK WORKS. IT'S PROBABLY SUPER OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE ELSE, BUT THERE'S TWO BACKPACKS, ONE WITH THE "BOYF", ONE WITHOUT.

-The scene in play rehearsal with Jeremy and Christine is so uncomfortable, but perfectly so. Jeremy throws up in his mouth numerous times, or at least it seems like it, and Will Roland's timing is just,,, tres magnifique.

-I made DIRECT EYE CONTACT with Will Roland multiple times- There was a point where he leaps out of his chair in play rehearsal when Jake shows up, and he kind of skitters into the floor awkwardly. While he was in the floor, his eyes were STRAIGHT ON ME and just?????? God bless.

-While Jake was talking to Christine, Jeremy started picking up his stuff and quietly going "Oh, shit! Oh, shit!"

-GERARD DID THE "IT'S FROM JAPAAAAN" DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME. HE WAS, LIKE, A FOOT AWAY, UP ON STAGE DELIVERING THE "IT'S BETTER THAN DRUGS LINE" AND I WAS PRAYING THAT HE WOULDN'T MOVE. HE DIDN'T.

-Not only does Jeremy say he's heard from his mom "a little" instead of not at all, he also explains a bit more about her other than she's gone. She moved to Long Island with "her high school prom king".

-When the squip said "You might better take instructions from (Batman, Beyoncé) a sexy anime cat girl with a tail," it didn't look angry. It looked... almost impressed?

-George stayed on for much longer than necessary at the end of "Be More Chill- Part 2". He just would not leave the stage. He also had way too much fun with the fan he was given. These sound like complaints, but I assure you they're not.

-Jason Tam throwing confetti into the audience was glorious. One piece landed perfectly on my arm. Another nailed me not-so-perfectly in the eye.

-Kudos to Tiffany Mann for dancing in that godforsaken clown costume because that thing looks like torture to perform in.

-"Do You Wanna Hang?" isn't nearly as bad as it used to be!! Instead of Chloe actively forcing herself onto Jeremy, she's mainly flaunting herself around and trying to convince him to have sex with her on his own accord (though, the way she behaves could still definitely be considered sexual harassment). It's still uncomfortably sexual, but the outright assault aspect of it isn't nearly as prominent.

-Right before the whole bathroom scene, Gingivitis comes through the stage pretending to smoke the blunt he has and I wanna know why??? It's never explained, he's just,,, there suddenly.

-I got emotional during "Michael in the Bathroom" not even because of what was happening, but because it was such a huge song in my life when I first found it and I was finally seeing it live.

-There's also a point where George is entirely alone on-stage, no other actors, no props, nothing. It was... rough. Sad rough. It made everything so much more monumental.

-When Jeremy and Christine are interrupted by Gingivitis during the whole "Weird noises" bit, the monster wasn't trying to make noises and instead was waking up from what was undoubtedly a very wasted nap. The first thing he said before running off-stage was "What the fuck?!" and my brain was immediately like "Mr. Heere's not allowed to say 'fuck',,,"

-Michael both made an entrance and got fucking d e c k e d by Jake right in front of me and my family (note: when people say he bursts through a wall, they're not joking).

-The play is genuinely really freaky?? With everyone so in-sync and all and trying so desperately to mimic happiness they're not getting, it's disturbing.

-THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MICHAEL FUCKED UP, TOO. He straight-up admits that he was willing to let Jeremy ruin his life until Mr. Heere showed up.

-THEY ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JEREMY WAS WILLING TO SAVE CHRISTINE IF IT MEANT SACRIFICING HIS OWN FREEDOM ("That makes you seem like less of an asshole." -Michael Mell, 2K19).

-Seeing Mr. Heere show up at the hospital with pants on is so heartwarming! I knew it happened, but it still got me.

-Michael listens in at the end of Rich's dialogue in the hospital scene, so he hears the whole "Is he your boyfriend? Is he single?" bit, and just the look of surprise and mild terror on his face is the actual best. He comes in and walks by Rich s l o w l y, goes "Hiiii, Rich", continues to walk slowly, and then goes "Byyyyye, Rich" before taking off towards Jeremy. He's so uncomfortable with the idea of his former bully being totally bi for him-

-There's a point where Michael comes over by (bi heheh) Rich, and Rich starts goodnaturedly (flirtatiously? maybe so) running his fingers along Michael's arm, and Michael laughs, but has the brilliant decision to smack Rich playfully. Rich, who is in a full body cast and covered with gradually healing burns. He does it H A R D, too, so Rich fucking SCREECHES, and the look on Michael's face is priceless.

-RICH PELVIC THRUSTED TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITIES DURING "EXCITES YOU SEXUALLY"

-After Jeremy and Christine's whole dialogue during "Voices in My Head", Jeremy whooped and awkwardly leaned down and pursed his lips for a kiss- This boy doesn't know how the hell to do this, but it's okay; Christine gave him an adorable little laugh and went in for the kiss.

-Michael and Christine hate each other? I think not. They hugged during "Voices in My Head" and it was the sweetest thing,,,

-Speaking of hugs, Rich grabs Michael and Jeremy and gives them a big one and it's also super sweet.

-The only thing that bugged me a little was that Jake used the house burning down for pity points. There was an exchange with Chloe in which they were arguing, and he went "I broke my legs!"/"My house burned down!" I dunno. I know that Jake is supposed to be an asshole underneath the whole "sensitive dude" motif, but it felt to me like it kind of fucked up the character development they had already established for him.

-"Rich joined the play because he's-" *Dabs* "-my boy." WHO THE HELL IS PAYING CAMERON BOND TO DAB ON A BROADWAY STAGE BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO EMPLOY ME

-"You have to sever your ties, or else you'll both drown." MY HEART- AND THE SQUIP GENUINELY LOOKED SAD ABOUT FORCING JEREMY TO BLOCK MICHAEL?? LIKE, "IT SUCKS BUT IT'S NECESSARY"

-When Chloe says "What kind of a slut do you think I am?", Jeremy and the squip exchanged a doubtful look.

-Chloe leaned on the headboard of Jake's parents' bed and fell-

-THE SQUIP SPEAKING JAPANESE IS SO FLUID AND SMOOTH AND I JUST LOVE HOW JASON TAM TRANSITIONS BETWEEN THAT AND ENGLISH

-People weren't lying when they said the squip flops down on the bed.

-We get to see how Brooke actually reacts to Jeremy and Chloe- Jeremy passes her and she immediately begins sobbing, but then she goes "Chloe?!" Chloe makes a remark about being absolutely shitfaced, and Brooke bolts. We also see her pass Christine and Jeremy while they're on the couch- My poor baby-

-THE SQUIP DEATH SCENE IS S O F U C K I N G G O O D - The discordant Japanese singing is so hauntingly beautiful and creepy, and I love how the squip goes from "Jeremy, please, I just want to help you" to "JEREMY YOU LITTLE SHIT"

-I officially want Chloe to step on me. I used to hate her, but now? I am,,, oddly attracted to her.

-During bows, Katlyn came d a n g e r o u s l y close to kicking my dad in the face.

-Likewise, Jason Tam almost kicked my mom.

-"This one's dreams have died, so he deals with it by spending his days eating ~Hot Pockets~"

-"I'M TIRED OF BEING THE PERSON THAT EVERYONE THINKS THAT I AM" IS SO MUCH MORE INTENSE LIVE

-During LGW, Michael's wearing a vest thing over his sweatshirt and just?? Why?? I don't understand?? Michael, honey, are you okay??

-At the very end, when the squip is calling out to Jeremy, its face is projected at the back of the stage. What I really like about it, however, is that everyone but Jeremy is standing directly in front of it, showing that they're supporting him and keeping him safe from those temptations, whether they know it or not.

-I didn't get the vibe that Michael and Rich were dating at the end, but it did feel to me as though they became really close friends.

-When Rich yells "GAAAAAAY!" in MTS, Michael looks kind of shocked and slightly hurt for a moment before rolling his eyes and walking away in a manner that really showed that he's comfortable with the way Rich treats him and Jeremy, but ONLY because he knows it's just Rich and he's not going to stop anytime soon.

-The bathroom scene (pre-"Squip Song") starts off SO MUCH MORE INTENSE. Jeremy comes in and Rich yells at him, but Jeremy goes, through tears, "Can you please leave me alone? I've had a really bad day." Immediately, Rich gets pissed, runs at him while shouting "You had a bad day?! You don't know what a bad day IS!" before dunking his head in the urinal. It makes Rich seem like a huge ass if you don't know context, but knowing what he's going through at home and hearing how genuinely upset he sounds at Jeremy's complaining? It,,, hurts.

-When Rich freaks out and has, like, a squip-induced seizure in the bathroom, Jeremy looks down at him, shocked for only a second before getting a really pissed off look on his face and trying to walk out without saying a word.

-The soundtrack does NOT do Jason Tam justice. He is A B S O L U T E L Y P H E N O M E N A L live!!!!! The surfer dude voice fits!!!!!

-Tiffany Mann is also a Q U E E N, and I want her operatic "Smartphone Hour" to be the last thing I hear before I die. Thanks.

-There's SO MUCH MORE I could scream about, but I've already taken up,,, so much room in this post.

Stage Door

-It was really tame! I expected it to be a massive crowd, but I guess since it was a Sunday matinee, it just wasn't what it usually is, and thank God for that. I was worried it was going to be utter c h a o s.

-Cameron and George were the only ones to come to the stage door, but that's okay!! I'm a little sad that I didn't get to see Jason Tam or Will Roland, but I'm still totally cool with just these two.

-Cameron didn't stay long, but he was still a pretty chill dude. I got to tell him it was a pleasure to see him in that day's show because it honestly was. Also, from what I can tell, he's literally the only BMC cast member who signs his name even remotely legibly.

-George was super nice! He kept saying that he couldn't stay long because he had to go to a Joe Iconis show at 54 Below, but he still had on a huge smile and took time to sign everyone's playbills and take pictures. What a guy.

-When George went back inside, someone yelled "Michael makes an exit!" If that person is reading this, I love you.

-Even if I didn't see them at the stage door, I still got my gifts for the other actors to a stage door manager!

Overall Impression

It was just... amazing. I know there are some people with doubts about the Broadway version, but I found it to be absolutely stunning and there wasn't a second where I wasn't totally invested in what was going on. I think it's safe to say that seeing this show was a life-changing occasion, and I still can't believe I was blessed with the opportunity.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

9x10: Music References and Ties to Beth

Okay, here goes. One of the things I really loved about this episode was how much of it revolved around music. The biggest things that jumped out to me were, of course, Lydia and the fact that her dad sings to her in flashbacks. There are some major Beth parallels going on here.

Because Beth was the song bird, we automatically tie any and all musical references to her. And there were TONS in this episode! We also saw the songbird pull the worm from the walker’s ear when this arc began (after Rick left) which gives us a lot of hope that Beth will show up somewhere in this arc. Keep in mind that doesn’t mean she has to show up this season, but we hope she will.

Alpha sang to Lydia and calling her “Bug.” Later, we find out it was actually her father who sang to her. That's significant because, back in S2, we saw Herschel not exactly singing to Beth but sort of chanting the rhyme to her about the doodlebug. It was their thing that they did together to bond and it brought her comfort when she got sick (emotionally/psychologically) after the walkers came out of the barn.

So anyway, Beth’s father called her Doodlebug and sang to her. There have been many theories by me and various members of TD about the doodlebug rhyme and the closely connected ladybug symbol, which we know is a major symbol for Beth. (Remember, she was associated with ladybugs in Still when she picked up ladybug off the leaf.)

We didn’t actually see Daryl watching Hershel sing to Beth, but he was probably aware of it, and he knew how close Beth was to her dad. We also know he watched her sing to Judith as a baby to comfort her, so he’s definitely seen people sing to their children before, specifically to keep them from being afraid. So, I really loved that when Lydia told the truth about her father singing to her when she was afraid, Daryl immediately recognized it as true and used it to differentiate Lydia’s truths from her lies. I think that’s super significant and can be tied directly back to Beth and Daryl’s memories of her.

On TTD, they said that the person who wrote the lyrics for the song Lydia’s father sang her (Lydia, the Tattooed Lady) is the same person who wrote all the songs for the Wizard of Oz (TWOO).

That's super important for several reasons. They went out of their way to point it out on TTD, which means they really want us to know about it. Obviously, knowing who the lyricist is, isn’t something we need to know in order to understand the show. They also reminded us that we'd seen Rick reading the Wizard of Oz book to Judith in 9A, before the bridge blew.

Now, I really need to update my Wizard of Oz theory, but remember the first place we saw the Wizard of Oz template was at Grady with Beth. Seeing it with Rick just reinforced that she's as much alive as Rick is. Both of them were injured and woke up in a faraway, strange land, separated from their friends and family. So, because we know Rick is alive, and they associated him with the TWOO template (Dorothy survives at the end of the story makes it back to her family; she doesn't die.) we can use that as evidence that Beth, too, is alive and well somewhere.

I also find it to be entirely too coincidental that they mentioned TWOO on TTD and in this episode, Daryl said to Lydia, “You don’t know shit about me.” Noah said that to Beth at Grady and he was also the one had the “of the Lollipop Guild” line. See the subtle ties? Tptb went out of their way to tie this episode heavily to TWOO and, by extension, to Grady.

Let's talk about the Tattooed Lady song. I looked at the lyrics and let's just say that there are a lot of extremely random references included in the song. 

Here they are:

Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the tattooed lady She has eyes that folks adore so And a torso even more so Lydia, oh! Lydia, that "Encyclopedia" Oh! Lydia, the Queen of tattoo On her back is the Battle of Waterloo Beside it the Wreck of the Hesperus too And proudly above the waves The Red, White and Blue You can learn a lot from Lydia She can give you a view of the world In tattoo if you step up and tell her where For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree Or Washington crossing the Delaware Oh! Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the tattooed lady When her muscles start relaxin' Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson Lydia, oh! Lydia, that "Encyclopedia" Oh! Lydia, the champ of them all For two bits she will do a Mazurka in Jazz With a view of Niag'ra that no artist has And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz You can learn a lot from Lydia. La la la La la la La la la La la la Come along and see Buff'lo Bill with his lasso Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon And Godiva, but with her pajamas on La la la La la la La la la La la la Here is Grover Whalen unveilin' the Trylon Over on the west coast we have Treasure Islan' Here's Nijinsky a doin' the Rhumba Here's her Social Security numba La la la La la la La la la La la la Lydia, oh! Lydia, say have you met Lydia Oh! Lydia, the champ of them all She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat And now the old boy's in command of the fleet

The song is about a woman who has tattoos all over her body. Most of them have to do with real people or historical events. So, the idea is that you can learn a lot from looking at her tattoos. Not all the references jump out at me as meaning something significant, but a lot of them do.

First, a LOT of them are water references. (Remember water =s Beth). It mentions the Battle of Waterloo, which I think is a dual symbol for the coming war with the Whisperers and also the fact that it includes “water” in the title.

It mentions The Wreck of Hesperus, which is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about a shipwreck. This one is super interesting to me because the captain of the boat wrecks his ship due to his arrogance. His little daughter is on board. I just couldn't help but think of this shot where we see this boat in the storm, talking about a sailor behind Hershel. 

I feel like we could substitute Herschel and Beth into this poem as the captain and his daughter.

The song mentions Treasure Island, which is an artificial island in San Francisco Bay. So again, more water references.

It also makes mention of different waves of the sea, Niagara, and the Crossing of the Delaware, which was when George Washington crossed the Delaware River in the dead of night to attack his enemies. For the record, that story is considered a modern-day miracle. It also mentions a fleet of ships tattooed across Lydia’s hips. There are probably a few other water references. Go through the lyrics and see for yourself.

Other references that jumped out at me include Buffalo Bill. I wondered if he, being a great hunter, could perhaps be a symbol of Daryl. One thing that caught my interest when I read about him was that he compared his strategy for hunting buffalo to a game of billiards. Obviously, we’ve see that in association with Beth and Daryl.

It talks about Capt. Jeffrey T. Spalding, who is a fictional character, but he was a great world explorer and went on many long journeys. Again, that reminds me of both Beth and Rick's long journeys.

It mentions the Trylon and Perisphere, which were central themes of the World's Fair in 1939. I wondered if perhaps that could point to the fair that's going to be at the Kingdom that they keep foreshadowing.

Finally, it also mentions a man named Vaslav Nijinsky who was a great ballet dancer. Music box anyone?

So I don't know if they mean for us to read into the references in Lydia, the Tattooed Lady. I think the a big part of the point of mentioning it on TTD was to point out it's ties to TWOO, which is clearly tied to Beth.

But we also did hear much of the song in the show, so I think that means the lyrics themselves are very important as well. I reserve the right to analyze the crap out of them. ;D

This is slightly off topic, but me, @frangipanilove and @wdway have also talked about the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow from TWOO. The lyricist who wrote Lydia, the Tattooed Lady, Yip Harburg, also wrote all the TWOO songs, including the famous Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

We’ve talked about how a lot of the symbols in that song can easily tie to Beth. I’ve never talked about the song in my TWOO posts before, but obviously I should. The mural on the prison wall back in S4 included a rainbow, which is further proof that Beth’s arc and these symbols were planned back then, when Beth first came front and center.

@frangipanilove also pointed out that the shirt Sophia wore when she came out of the barn in S2 had a rainbow on it. That’s a great way to associate Beth with the Missing Girl theme. The song talks about wishing on stars (North Star Theory, Sirius/Dog Star Theory) and songbirds (Beth and the songbirds with Daryl and the tree walker in 5x06). And of course there’s the fact that Dorothy has a dog named Toto.

And keep in mind the basic plot of TWOO. Dorothy, who wore a lot of blue 

hits her head (obvious head injury) and passes out. She wakes up in a far away land, away from her friends and family and spends the entire episode trying to get home.

This is why I can totally see them first bringing Beth back somewhere other than TWD (perhaps in Fear or another spinoff) so they can tell her story without completely taking over the main story line. But we’ll just have to wait and see.

I also noticed that we see a rainbow on the wall near Lydia that mirrors the one at the prison. Hmm. Especially given all the water references, could Alpha function as the Wicked Witch? Really no idea. Just conjecturing. But remember that in TWOO, it’s water that defeats the villain. (I’m melting!) Just saying. ;D

So, this is been kind of a rambling post, but there's a lot of music floating around this episode, and I can't help but tie it to Beth and feel like she's very close. Thoughts?

[lixxiecorn]

Totally Normal - Steve and Bucky

Part two of Totally Normal. Like I said with part one, Totally Normal is a multi-chaptered fic I’m writing on ao3 but since the chapters function on their own as one shots, I’m posting them here as well. 

This chapter features The Lightning Thief-The Percy Jackson Musical which if you want to know more about their official website is here. I really enjoyed it and if it’s coming to a town near you I would definitely recommend seeing it!

Read the entire story on ao3

…

It had started out with a simple statement from MJ at lunch one day.

MJ always had a book on her no matter what. Gym Class? Book. Fire drill? Book. End of the world as we know it? Book. Which is why it didn’t surprise Peter to see her reading during lunch. What did surprise him, however, was what book she was reading.

“Are you reading Percy Jackson?” Peter asked as he and Ned sat down across from her.

“Yeah.” MJ responded, not even looking up.

“Uhh, don’t you read stuff that typically have a bit more meaning?” Ned pointed out, confused.

“I’m preparing.” MJ told them.

Peter and Ned shared an exasperated and confused look. “For?” Peter prompted.

MJ sighed and put a bookmark in her book before setting it down.

“My dad was going through current Broadway shows because why not and he came across Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief: The Musical. Since he knew that I enjoyed the book when I first read it, he got us tickets for this weekend and I’m rereading the book to prepare.” MJ explained, then picked the book up and began to read again.

“Wait, Lightning Thief is a musical? Is it any good?” Ned asked. MJ ignored the question, seemingly having had enough of the conversation. 

“Let’s google it.” Peter suggested.

He pulled out his new Starkphone, he used to have an older one, but DUM-E had accidentally broken it, and pulled up google. He quickly typed in the musical’s name and hit search, surprised with all the results that came up. Going to YouTube, Peter found the trailer for the musical and with one earbud in his ear and the other in Ned’s, they watched it.

“Oh my god. Or should I say gods? This looks amazing.” Ned said in disbelief.

“Yeah, and I know just the people to go see it with.” Peter responded, an idea forming in his mind.

…

“There’s a musical!” Bucky exclaimed, excitedly. Peter had just told him and Steve about the musical, and as he expected, they were extremely excited.

It wasn’t overly surprising that the supersoldiers were excited, they both had enjoyed the Percy Jackson books and they liked going to musicals. They said it was something they could do that made them feel like normal citizens for once instead of superheroes.

“And we have tickets for this weekend?” Steve asked in slight disbelief.

“Yep!” Peter confirmed, popping the p.

“How did you manage to make that happen?” Bucky asked.

“I asked my dad who is a billionaire, he does nice things for people sometimes.” Peter said, shrugging.

…

Both Steve and Bucky dressed up nicely for the show, while Peter wore his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and kakis. They made their way to their seats, third row courtesy of Tony, and sat down. Peter spotted MJ and threw her a wave. She barely got a chance to wave back before Steve pulled Peter down into his seat. The lights dimmed and the show began.

The three Avengers laughed all the way through ‘The Day I Got Expelled’. Peter agreed wholeheartedly with Percy in ‘Strong’ when he talked about ADHD. Bucky seemed to find ‘Another Terrible Day’ quite funny. They all loved ‘The Campfire Song’, especially when Percy sang about his dad and owned it. Peter really related to Percy in ‘Good Kid’ about how he didn’t deserve what was happening to him, because with all the hardships in Peter’s life, he understood that frustration. Steve’s face when Percy said hell in ‘Killer Quest!’ was hilarious, and Peter could hear Bucky whisper “Language” tauntingly to Steve.

…

“So, what do you guys think so far?” Peter asked at intermission, munching on some skittles.

“Steve must have hated it because Percy said a bad word.” Bucky teased, looking at his friend.

Peter giggled as Steve rolled his eyes. “That was one time!” Steve exclaimed.

“One time’s enough.” Peter informed him, grinning.

“I thought I’d see the three of you here.” A voice said. Peter spun around and came face to face with MJ.

“Miss Jones.” Steve greeted, extending his hand to her. She shook it and gave Bucky a small wave which he returned.

“Hey MJ.” Peter said, smiling.

“Hi loser.” She responded, stealing one of his skittles.

“Hey!” Peter squawked, pulling the bag away from her. “Don’t you have a random bag of M&M’s or something?”

“No, I left those at home today.” MJ replied, her lip twitching up in a smile.

The lights flickered, signaling intermission coming to an end.

“Well, I better go back and find my dad.” MJ decided, grabbing another skittle before walking off with a wave.

“She took my skittle.” Peter said in shock, staring at the bag.

“Come on Peter, wouldn’t want to miss the rest of the show.” Bucky prodded, giving Peter’s shoulder a slight push.

Peter got up and followed the supersoldiers back to their seats. They sat back down, and the second act began.

All three agreed that ‘Lost!’ pretty accurately described most of the Avenger’s missions, which was basically saying they were a mess. Bucky and Steve told Peter that he was the squirrel, which Peter agreed with. ‘My Grand Plan’ was another one of Peter’s favorites, Annabeth reminding him of MJ and Nat, two of the strongest women he knew. Everyone enjoyed ‘Drive’ because one, it was a bop, and two it really encompassed the different events that occurred throughout the book. Both Bucky and Steve got a little emotional during ‘The Tree on the Hill’, Thalia’s sacrifice reminded them of when Bucky fell off the train many years ago. Peter politely pretended not to notice their tears or the face they were tightly gripping each other’s forearms. Bucky liked ‘Son of Poseidon’, he identified with the accepting yourself aspect of the song due to his own struggles with accepting his past as the Winter Soldier. The part Steve wasn’t a fan of (Peter and Bucky liked it but that’s besides the point) was ‘The Last Day of Summer’. He liked the song in itself but the fight between Luke and Percy reminded him too much of his own fight with Tony and he didn’t ever want to go back to that. All three loved ‘Bring on the Monsters’ and the message of unity and hope it brought, plus the references to all the different songs at the end was amazing.

As soon as the curtain dropped and the lights came up, Peter ran around collecting the confetti that had been shot out over the audience, as well as some of the toilet paper that had been blown out during the water scene. Once satisfied, the trio went to the souvenir shop. Steve insisted on buying everyone a tour t-shirt, as well as buying one of the squirrel stuffed animals. Peter rolled his eyes but couldn’t deny the fact that he loved the squirrel.

“On a scale from one to 10, how much did you guys love it?” Peter asked once they had gotten into Bucky’s jeep.

“I’d say a solid 9.” Steve decided.

“I give it an 8 because Percy didn’t wear the flying shoes in the book, Grover did.” Bucky pointed out.

“But the references! Like Bianca was the one talking in the Lotus Casino in Drive and they mentioned the dam snack bar in that song too!” Peter exclaimed.

“True, but the shoes…” Bucky said, glancing in the rear-view mirror at Peter.

Peter dug through the bags to find his squirrel stuffed animal and was surprised to find two of them.

“Steve, you got two squirrels by accident.” Peter said, holding up the stuffies.

“No, I bought two on purpose.” Steve corrected.

“Why?” Peter asked, confused.

“Tony’s squirrely.” Steve said, shrugging. Peter laughed at that the entire way back to the tower.

[pelagaios-a]

things you should all know about the lightning thief musical and why it was amazing:

they stayed true to the books ( some people may ask me why I say this, well... the movies are nothing like the books )

lots and lots of Luke. like, seriously. Luke was very much present in the musical and it was such a nice change of pace cause these days so many people forget Luke and his story and why he’s so important to the pjo storyline

the characterizations were pretty accurate !!! ( I’m gonna do a writeup on this later ) and not only did we get Annabeth / Percy / Grover but we saw Katie, Silena, and Clarisse as well

for those who couldn’t see it, the musical had little dialogue / plot drive outside song !!! so look forward to that CD coming out since the songs themselves are absolutely amazing and pretty spot on

they reference the other books. at one point theres a joke about “you don’t see a son of Hades or a daughter of Zeus running around now do you?” and the dam jokes are, indeed, present --- among others! ( plenty of humor for adults to which good shit )

there’s this really great song that takes place around the campfire which basically summarizes to “fuck the gods” cause everyone complains about their parent, including our favorite horse man

while the storyline moved very fast, it was also very fluid

theres a song about Thalia and the way they had it acted out honestly made me tear up and Percy’s reply to it was “wait I’m not the only one” which broke my heart because Grover just went “she died”

when Percy first sees Annabeth after he fully wakes up he yells “THATS MY DREAM GIRL !!!” at her then realizes what he said and proceeds to half trip over himself

have I mentioned Luke ??? well, in the end he basically hijacks the tune to Good Kid ( which does have a reprise in Hades ) to tell Percy he’s basically useless then literally stabs him in the back I’m not crying you’re crying

Percy: why does he hate me what did I do? // Mr. D: you were born

[ Luke voice ] protip, if you’re a son of Poseidon and you want to be alone, don’t sit by the lake.

Percy straight up called Grover a furry

the song with Charon actually killed me I want it on repeat for the rest of my life

[ Hades voice ] one does not simply walk out of Hades actual quote

YOU GET !!! BACKSTORIES !!! AAAAH !!!

if that wasn’t Bianca I’ll eat a shoe

Annabeths song ??? literal wonder I am so happy it happened and it really gave something to grab onto for her which I didn’t expect and totally approve of. it also strongly spoke of how she wants to build something permanent without straight up coming out and saying it so tbh really well done

right after the show the twitter dropped a news bomb that suggests a second musical next summer and I screamed ( they also came back on stage after the performance ) 

[littlebookmermaid]

Here’s my (really, really, really) long and totally unnecessary review of the Percy Jackson cast album. I’ve gotten so many visions by listening to this. I’ve even gotten a better understanding of some of the characters. 

The Day I Got Expelled “The gods are real and they have kids and all those kids have issues.”

“Look, I didn’t wanna be a halfblood.” Bless this crew for actually reading the books; we begin the musical like we begin the book.  I like this song because it’s a very successful musical number, since it tells the first chapters with only one song. 

Notable lyrics/melody: “...that's when this story should probably start. We were geeking out on ancient Greek at the New York Metropolitan Museum Of Art” I love this part. 

Strong Bless Sally Jackson.  “Normal is a myth. Everyone has issues they're dealing with. [...] The things that make you different are the very things that make you; strong.”  What I love about this are those lines. Sally knows that this might not mean much to Percy now but soon enough it will. When all the halfblood things are getting too much for him, he’ll probably remember: “Normal is a myth. Everyone has issues they’re dealing with.” She also sings about blue food and how that’s not every normal either.  Notable lyrics/melody: (sings about blue food) “To make it boring orange or green, why be blah, when there's aquamarine?” 

The Minotaur / The Weirdest Dream “You drool when you sleep.”

Sally Jackson sacrifices herself and Percy wakes up at camp. Also; Percy calls Annabeth “angel.”  Notable voice acting: “If Mrs. Dodds was really a monster, I hope you're really a sword... Awesome!"  Not sure why but I love how he sounds when he says this.

Another Terrible Day “'Course, who am I to give relationship advice, I'm literally the god of alcohol” Mr. D got his own song! This song is so much fun. What is great about this is that normally someone would sing a song about how great the camp is. You know, to introduce camp to the audience. But instead; this musical let Mr. D sing about how godsawful the camp is and what a terrible day he’s having. 

“I'm the god of wine and I'm dying of thirst” I also love how freaked out Percy is during this song. It feels more natural than being totally cool with it. “Mr. Brunner!? You’re a horse!? What is happening???”  Notable voice acting: I never would have guessed that the same guy who is Grover is also Mr. D. He does a great job!  Their Sign This is a sweet song. Percy’s feelings are really coming through here. He’s mad, he’s upset and he doesn’t understand what’s going on. But then Luke enters and helps him cope a little. (It’s just so sad how good he is at doing that because of how things turns out later.)  Notable lyrics/music: ”He showed no sign that he ever existed. No sign he might actually care. My mom raised me all on her lonesome when I would reach out, no one else would be there. Well I want my birthday cards and fishing trips, child support and homework tips. Don't mean to whimper or whine. The guy didn't need to be "Dad of the Year" But it's clear he could've shown us a sign” Long, I know. But it’s so good. So much emotion.

Put You In Your Place This girl got some pipes! Geesh, she’s amazing!  This song doesn’t bring out that many emotions in me but it’s still brilliant. The music is awesome and those guitars!! 

The best part is when they fight in the bathroom.  “Heard you were tough, But you don't look it, Your goose is cooked. I'm here to cook it” This line is so strange but Clarisse sings it with such dedication and power that it makes total sense anyway. 

The Campfire Song

“My father is Kronos (silence) Remember my lecture He ate his children.” “Chiron wins.” 

What a brilliant way to introduce all the characters. Make them sing a camp song about their godly parents! But then it’s Percy’s turn and that little cinnamon bun sings about Sally! (Cue heartbreak.) This is also a very sweet way for them to introduce the concept that even if their families suck; they’ll always have a family at camp.  Notable lyric: ”If I tried to sing, it'll probably cause an avalanche” Yay for book quotes!

Good kid  All right this is one of those songs that made me understand Percy as a character a little bit more. So we have this kid who causes trouble wherever he goes. None of it is really his fault. He’s set up because of the whole half blood thing. He really is a good kid and he tries really hard to stay out of trouble. But it doesn’t work and everyone always think it’s his fault and then; he learns that he’s a demigod. Things might look up but then Zeus, the most powerful greek god, accuses him of stealing his most powerful lighting bolt.  Imagine that; having people telling you how things are always your fault and then you’re literally accused by the Gods of stealing something. This poor kid is just trying to be good! Let the poor boy be. 

I swear I never stole anything I never meant to hurt anyone I swear, I swear that I'm a good kid Killer Quest “We're gonna march straight down to the gates of hell.” “Underworld.” “Close enough.”  Aa, Percy. 

I adore the music in this song. I also love how many times they manage to find so many (good) words that rhymes with “quest.” Favourite part of this song is at the very end when they start to sing.”We’re going on an awesome, dangerous and scary....” Also “Killer heroes quest!”  Lost I wrote a post about this the other day. But this song is the catchiest song on this album. “We’re lost in the woods, somewhere in New Jersey and we’re never gonna make to LA.” I love the dialogue in this and also Grover’s Kronk moment. “Dude, are talking to a squirrel.” Also Percy’s pun, especially how he drags the “S.”  

Is anyone still reading this? it’s super long. Well only a little left.  My grand plan Oh, Annabeth my previous deadly cupcake.  This is also one of those songs that made me understand Annabeth better. I love how the incorporated her hat in this. How unfitting that Annabeth, who’s been working her whole life to be taken seriously and noticed, gets a hat to make herself invisible? Annabeth wants to be remembered and my previous deadly cupcake you’re so will. You’re gonna be the architect of Olympus one day. You’ll be remembered forever. 

Drive Two things about this song; The Hover dam reference (dam snacks) and the fact that Ares mentioned Clarisse so he could rhyme it with “peace.” 

Tree on the hill

Emotions. Emotions all over the place. Grover is making me cry. This is a wonderful way to introduce Thalia and talk about Grover’s guilt. 

And there on the Hill Up on Half-Blood Hill A cold wind blew Dark and chill For nothing would slake it's wrathful will We had to make a stand-

This part is so good. The melody, the emotion and just everything. Right when he sings “chill” it literally gives me chills. How fitting. 

I won’t go deeper into the songs anymore but overall this musical is just really well done. It respects the books and the songs are really catchy. 

[pelagaios-a]

do not reblog;;

so as some of you may or may not know ( depending on how long you’ve been following me here ) in May I went on closing night to see the Lightning Thief: the Percy Jackson Musical with @wisdomwalked !!! it was absolutely amazing and totally worth the trip into NYC for the day and I have a post [ here ] about some of the stuff that went on. with the release of the soundtrack ( which I literally got in the mail Saturday --- thank you preorder ) I wanted to talk about the songs and their parallels / etc to the content in the Lightning Thief ( book 1 ). below I am going to have a lot of links ( I have put together the lyrics for the album ) and quotes and stuff so I guess bare with me here and I hope I make sense lmao.

to start off I’m going to skip a lot of the other songs since I wanted to address the song [ Good Kid ] and the following related songs [ Their Sign ] / [ Son of Poseidon ] and [ The Last Day of Summer ]. which you may be like, kat ??? what do they share ??? well, let me tell you.

to start off in the song Good Kid ( x ) we get the lyrics

six schools in six years, been kicked out of every place everything I ever do is wrong never find where I belong everybody on my case

the same old story, the same old song don’t act up, don’t act out, be strong

I keep my head down I keep my chin up but it ends up all the same with pack your bags Percy, you’re always to blame

and I say this because in the song Their Sign ( x ) we get

he show'd no sign that he ever existed no sign he might actually care my mom raised me all on her lonesome when I would reach out, no one else would be there !

which we get compounded with this set from Son of Poseidon ( x )

seems my good intentions always crash and burn everything I try to do will fail never once will I prevail going wrong at every turn

then as I have said [ before ] Luke hijaks the tune to good kid in the Last Day of Summer ( x ) and tells Percy

it doesn't pay to be a good kid a good kid a good son

Good Kid is literally the first song that comes to mind for me from this album --- possibly because it was the only release before the musical --- but it touches on a lot of aspects people forget about Percy within canon and brings to light a lot of his own thoughts and insecurities. I know I’ve said it before but he really does not have the best self image even at the most opportune of times let alone the fact his life is a trainwreck more often then not. Percy spent his life growing up alone ( Grover is literally his first friend --- think on that ) and was commonly the target of bullies. not only this, but he’s referenced being called stupid / problematic / not worth someones time by adults in his life ( I imagine teachers alongside the verbal abuse Gabe subject him to ). in his mind ??? the only person who cares about him is his mother and even then he’s rather worthless due to the fact he makes life so, so much harder for her then she deserves. all these lyrics ESPECIALLY the lyrics throughout Good Kid reference a child who is looking for someone --- anyone --- to accept him. I mean the damn song ends with

I swear I never stole anything I never meant to hurt anyone I swear, I swear that I’m a good kid a good kid, who’s had a bad run

and all I need is one last chance to prove I’m good enough for someone

he literally just wants a place to feel accepted and Camp Half Blood offered that but then they told him to leave --- remember that Percy did not have a choice in this quest or he would have been killed outright by Zeus. he’s twelve and sent on a quest everyone thought he would fail. explain to me how that helps ??? answer: it doesn’t ( “ no one ever tells me that they’re proud no one asks me, Percy, how'd you’d like to come around and stay” ). so I say again: these four songs alone touch on a lot of how he thinks of himself that gets breezed over since, as Percy is the narrator and plays off his own problems, fanon / the fandom / most people tend to brush over or ignore. he literally is looking for acceptance but does not expect any. Percy says he reached out but ??? it’s referenced in the past. it’s not something he does anymore. how literally fucked up is this.

and then there’s the [ Prologue / the Day I Got Expelled ] which follows the first chapter or so of the book. some of the stuff said just ??? really upsets me due to the connotations ( x ) which like, I am not getting into the big breakdown of this song right now since there is a LOT to talk about but I will bring up some lyrics:

look! I didn't want to be a halfblood I didn't ask to be a hero seeking grace being a halfblood, it's scary it mostly gets you killed in very nasty ways

now as most of us know, Percy has the Iconic™ line “look, I didn’t want to be a halfblood” at the start of book 1. to start the show off, though, they played a little deeper into it. that line up there I think very well plays off my [ hero headcanon ]. Percy never once has reference liking the idea of being a hero and right here he states at the beginning this is nothing he wants, nothing he wanted, and he really wishes this was not his life. the song then goes on to bring up other stuff but man this part to start it off. which ??? sets the mood for the rest of the musical in a way, I think. like, sure it had lighthearted and funny moments, but there’s always this thought in the back of your head that Percy never starts to like it or enjoy it or anything. every moment is something he wishes weren’t his, in a way. not to mention they don’t downplay his character in the slightest --- we get a good look into his mind from a perspective that starts to show it more outward then inward ( because let’s be honest, Percy brushing it off let’s us brush it off and the musical didn’t allow much room for “brushing off” ).

this all is one of the huge reasons I find the song [ Strong ] so important. not only is it a song entirely dedicated to Sally and Percy but it’s a song about how you’re strong because of your differences which ??? I think for a lot of people even outside the pjo universe would find important. like ( x )

normal is a myth everyone has issues they're dealing with and there's a place you'll need to go where you belong where the things that make you different are the things that make you special special like your father yes Percy, you are special

like food the color blue all the things that make you, you are the things that will make you strong so be strong

like, I don’t know whether I say it or just think it anymore ( ignoring the people who get my Percy feeling dumps ) but so much is out there coming at him from every side and this song puts a lot of focus on 1. the fact he needs another voice to remind him he’s more then what other people say ( “what was he a screw up to? sorry mom, if I was only normal... “ / “ mom if you're weird, you're weak” ) because he’s so hard on himself 2. just how important ??? Percy’s mother is, most especially to him --- she is one of his major reasons to keep going --- and 3. it again shows more of his self image. Sally Jackson is literally the sweetest most important character in this whole series and this song does a good job of summing that up. Percy at his point has one friend he thinks is ditching him and no prospects and he just failed again. in his mind whats the point? the song here is just.... god I don’t even know how to word how important this song is across the board.

anyway, I know I didn’t include every song on the soundtrack ( there are 19 total --- while all include Percy some are just about other characters which I don’t think ??? I’m going to discuss here. like [ Another Terrible Day ] / [ Put you in Your Place ] / [ My Grand Plan ] / [ The Tree on the Hill ] or [ D.O.A. ] which, while play into Percy’s journey and whatnot, are not about him or his growth in a way. I may touch on them slightly later ??? but definitely not right now.

tada tho here’s my brief pjo musical Percy synopsis I guess...