#got this idea while listening to 'my grand plan' from the lightning thief musical

[watercolor-rainclouds]

young gem making her first sword by tying sticks together

[bronanlynch]

weekly media round up, whatever day of the week this is edition

me: I should do this on the same day every week

also me: cannot keep to a consistent schedule for anything ever apparently

listening: My Grand Plan from the Lightning Thief musical, which played on the radio the other day and I was like, oh wow this is good I wanna listen to the whole show when I get home, and also if I heard this in high school it would’ve absolutely destroyed me. and then I started sobbing on the highway so maybe I’m not really that far from the person I was in high school after all. y’know. love to realize that you relate to Annabeth Chase just as much now as you did when you were twelve.

and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings specifically about these lines and like, the intersection between being condescended to because you’re (seen as) a girl and being condescended to because you’re not neurotypical so all you have are academic achievements but none of them ever seen to actually matter

reading: I backed an f/f scifi/fantasy anthology called Silk & Steel on kickstarter a while back and I got the pdf for it this week and it’s good!! it’s really fun!! I’m only reading a few stories at a time to like. fully savor it, y’know? so I’m only partway through. I think my fave so far is either the one about parallel worlds and anti-monarchism by Freya Marske, or the one about two trans girls running away together by Neon Yang, but I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far (I got it through the kickstarter but you can also just. buy it however you normally buy your ebooks)

also lots of articles abt labor laws and workers’ rights because my coworker and I were complaining about how we don’t get paid enough and he made an offhand comment about how he wasn’t gonna ask how much I make because that would be breach of contract and I was like. I know that’s not true but I don’t have the sources to back it up right now so I’m gonna do some research and then have this conversation again (it is, in fact, super illegal in the US for your employer to prevent you from sharing your salary with your coworkers except in a few specific instances which don’t apply here so)

watching: I’ve been watching The Magicians, unfortunately, because the whole destiel thing made me crave content that’s simultaneously gay and homophobic. I got through most of season 2 a few years ago and then uh. the school year ended and I moved away from the person I was watching it with, and my review is that end of season 2 is good, season 3 is pretty fun even though there are definitely some aspects and plotlines that could’ve been handled a lot more thoughtfully, and I would be enjoying season 4 so much if I didn’t know how it ended. one of the main characters is possessed by the big bad of the season and everyone else is somewhere along the spectrum of ‘trying to defeat the big bad’ and ‘trying to help the possessed friend’ and there’s some tasty drama. there’s an episode about a third of the way through that ends with 1) the Main main character definitively ending any association at all with his ex-girlfriend and 2) the revelation that the main character and his possessed friend have been in love with each other for a while now but couldn’t get together because of plot and also the friend being afraid of emotional intimacy. which sounds like a nice set up for, y’know, them getting together, you would think? you would be wrong. by the end of the season the main character gets back together with his ex and then dies. this is outdated fandom drama but I’m still gonna be mad about it.

you would think a line like that would have any sort of meaningful follow-up. you would be wrong (also apparently I can take screenshots on netflix on this laptop?? wild)

playing: nothing recently, I’ve been either busy or too beset by headaches to Game, but I did buy the rest of the Dishonored games because they were on sale so. once I get through the first game I can play Dishonored content that I haven’t already played. knife daughter time here we come

making: continuing to pick away at the same cosplay I’ve been vaguely working on since like May, now I’m actually cutting the pieces for the mock-up down to their new sizes so hopefully I’ll start assembling mock-up take 2 relatively soonish. the thing about no cons in the foreseeable future means I don’t have any sort of deadline for this at all

writing: wrote my first m/f fic in a very long time for Persona Rarepair Week because I love a good academic rivalry regardless of genders. I also signed up for Secret Samol (Friends at the Table fandom holiday exchange) and realized that some of the prompts I was asking for I things I wanted to write myself so. I’ve added Clem/Gucci fantasy AU to my ideas doc specifically so I can do a scene where Gucci puts the point of her sword under Clem’s chin because I am a simple person with simple needs

[juliethebibliophile]

I Realize I saw The Lightning Thief Musical 3 Days Ago Now and I Still Haven’t Blogged About It?

So I’m gonna do that now. 

Okay, so I first heard about this musical 5 or 6 years ago on Tumblr when they first started workshopping it. Since then, they’ve been off Broadway twice(I live in New York), literally ON MY CAMPUS once, and every time my best friend and I have planned to see it but been too busy or forgotten to buy tickets. This year, while they were in Manhattan for their tour, we FINALLY went. That notion alone was enough to make me cry you guys, you have no idea how much it meant to me to finally see this show(that is another post entirely that I made on Facebook and might make here but I digress)

FULL SPOILER FREE REVIEW BELOW THE CUT

 Okay, so first thing I’ll say is from the moment this show began, forget that, from the moment I was on my way there, but especially when I got into the theatre, and again when the show started, I turned into a 14 year old again. I had not touched “The Lightning Thief”, or the first Percy Jackson series, since the 5th grade(I’m a junior in college now). I hadn’t even thought about the franchise as a whole since I read “The Blood of Olympus” when it came out in 2014(okay that’s a lie, I read the first Magnus Chase and Trials of Apollo but you get the picture). And yet, this show got me jumping up and down and crying about Percy instantly. And now I’ll go through the reasons why I think that is. 

So with me not having read the first book in ten years, I knew the movie was inaccurate, but I didn’t really know how or why because the plot of the movie was what stuck in my mind. When I reread the book in preparation for the musical, and saw the musical, I really understood where the movie went wrong, and in turn where this musical went so right. In general, the musical comes off like the characters and places in the books jumped right off of the pages. What really amazes me about this is that the actors are all obviously in their twenties, and yet you still feel like they’re the twelve year olds you know and love from that first book. I credit this to the incredible talent of the actors of course, but to some other things as well. 

The musical works with minimalism in terms of sets and effects, for obvious reasons, but this serves it so well. The minimalist way that everything is done matches the heart of the book. The things they do are things that kids playing pretend could do with props in their garage. And that’s what makes it so great: it has this childlike story hour feel that matches the childlike feel of the books, and also plays to the nostalgia factor that the books hold for the majority of the show’s audiences. 

The show is a comedy in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t feel like a parody because the books are comedic/not taking themselves seriously in that same way. The way the gods are portrayed in the musical(I won’t spoil anything but like...I nearly pissed myself at Poseidon) much better matches the feel of the books than the edgy, domineering figures in armor that the movies gave us. Every moment of laughter that the show provides has so much emotion behind it as well, and it harkens back to Percy’s sarcasm and ridiculous sounding chapter titles from the original series. 

The songs are amazing. Seriously, it’s been 3 days, and this soundtrack is still the only thing I can listen to. There are songs full of emotion and heart like “Good Kid” (which I’ve been crying over for years), “Strong” and “Tree on the Hill”, songs that are full of comedy and fun like “Another Terrible Day” and “Drive”, songs that’ll have you crying from triumph and pride like “Son of Poseidon” and “My Grand Plan”, and songs that are a perfect combination of everything like “Campfire Song” and “Bring on the Monsters”. In general, they all reminded me of the most joyful, innocent parts of myself, and reminded me what it’s like to love Percy Jackson.

The way the musical handles time restraints is spectacularly done as well. The song “drive” basically covers all the major events of the quest in about 5-10 minutes(save for Aunty Em’s and the trip to the Underworld which have their own scenes) and they technically don’t do everything that they do in the book, but the musical finds a way to pay homage to and acknowledge those events while also brushing past them in a comical way that the audience eats up. 

Speaking of time constraints, the musical also pays homage to beloved parts of the series that don’t occur in “The Lightning Thief”. Without changing or manipulating any plot points, they reference Bianca and Nico, the “dam” snack bar, Percabeth, and more. The subtle references are even more fun than if these elements had been placed in via changing plot(I’m looking at you creepy pool makeout scene in the movie) and the audience goes wild every time. 

That’s another measure of how spectacular the show is. The audience, which anyone with eyes can see is comprised of hoards of diehard Percy Jackson fans(fully grown adults in Camp Half-Blood T-shirts EVERYWHERE), goes absolutely batshirt nuts with excitement over this show. This makes it such a fun show to go to, because everything you wanna cheer for in an absolute nerdy, over-the-top way, everyone else is cheering for as well(Percabeth references, Percy being proclaimed the Son of Poseidon, etc.) It just brings you back to childhood joy and innocence for the two hours that you’re there.

The show immerses you in nostalgia in every way. The concession stand sells 90% blue food(an expert way for them to get all of my money too I willingly spent 17 bucks on snacks because they were blue). They reference inside jokes and fan favorites. In general, you can tell that everyone involved in the show has been a Percy Jackson fan at some point(or at least they did their research because seriously...”dam”). It’s funny, ridiculous and quirky, but so are the books, and the musical is also deep and emotional and beautiful in ways that I can’t even put into words. Just listen to Good Kid and Son of Poseidon. Seriously. They’re on Youtube and Spotify. You will cry. 

In conclusion, I have nothing negative to say about this show...like at all. If you’ve ever been a fan of Percy Jackson in any capacity, you’ve gotta see this show. I’ve been so ridiculously happy since I saw this show, and I forgot until I saw it what a significant part Percy Jackson played in my childhood and adolescence. It was an absolute delight from start to finish, and I will definitely be seeing it every time I have the opportunity. 

[mabelvsthefuture]

the lightning thief musical or Jasper in deadland for the musical asks

send me a musical~

before i start can i just say anon!! you know me well lmfao we should be friends (im gonna do both because i like them both)

The Lightning Thief:

Listened to It | wtf is that | LOVE IT | meh | um…hate it | heard of it | yes!!

Rate: 1-10: I wanna give it a 10 asdjkjd i love it so much ok it’s perfect to me 

Favorite Lyric: the part in drive when percy sings “I never dreamed that I could do this, never felt like I was worth a damn!!” (idk what the rest of the lyrics are because they’re kinda unclear on the boot but it’s good)

Favorite Song: another terrible day, good kid, killer quest, my grand plan, drive, DOA, son of poseidon (so basically all of them lmao)

Favorite Character: GROVER

Best Moment: the whole of drive and d.o.a and the son of poseidon scene!! shoutout to the squirrel scene too though

Something that makes me angry: i honestly have no complaints!! i just wish i had got a chance to see it haha 

Gives me the chills: luke singing the good kid reprise in the last day of summer

Overall opinions: IT’S SO GOOD!! I’ve waited so long for this and the cast are some of my favourite people ever and all of the songs are just ?!?!! so so good omg I can’t wait for the cast album 

Jasper in Deadland

Listened to It | wtf is that | LOVE IT | meh | um…hate it | heard of it | yes!!

Rate: 1-10: 8/10!! 

Favorite Lyric: “Agnes showed me more than a killing, drilling her words - my life’s not a waste. Agnes says it can be fulfilling, she’s shielding the truth that I haven’t faced. That I’ll die wasting all of my time” 

Favorite Song: goodbye jasper, the killing, living dead, stroke by stroke and one more day of snow!!

Favorite Character: jasper!!

Best Moment: that part in goodbye jasper when it’s going through all of jasper’s important memories with agnes and the music is all bouncy and upbeat!! also the whole of the stroke by stroke scene and the cute ukulele parts in one more day of snow

Something that makes me angry: Doesn’t make me particularly angry just a bit of a peeve - but the fact that agnes gets lowkey mad at jasper for not reciprocating her romantic feelings for him at first. like aaa!!! he needs time to figure this out for himself and is allowed to not feel the same way/be confused (also he literally died for you agnes what). having said that, i guess it’s just a character flaw and i know it gets resolved in the end anyway (plus a lot of things probably get explained in the show that we can’t interpret from the cast album)👍

Gives me the chills: the lifesong reprise in the trade/the swim 

Overall opinions: it’s really good i love how unique the score is and how cool the concept of the show is in general!! it took me a few listens to get into and the story is a bit confusing/took a while to figure out but it was worth it and im excited at the idea of it getting some more fans