Sinister Kid | A Luke Castellan Fanmix | PJO
Title: Sinister Kid
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Characters/Pairing: Luke Castellan
Spoilers: Through The Last Olympian, I suppose.
Notes: Luke is one of my favorite characters in the Percy Jackson series, not because he's cute (although, damn) but because he's very complexly layered. Hopefully this mix encompasses the things I love about him. Mix includes cover art, lyrics, and a small explanation accompanying each song.
1. "Crazy For You" ☿ Adele
Found myself today singin' out loud your name
You said I'm crazy, if I am I'm crazy for you
Sometimes sittin' in the dark wishin' you were here turns me crazy
But its you who makes me lose my head
For me, this song encapsulates the relationship between Luke's mother, May Castellan, and Hermes. I think it's so important to contemplate the domestic life Luke lived with for so long before abandoning it. May Castellan, from what Riordan tells us, has to live with visions of her son with Kronos inside him--she gets to see what Luke will become, and she is terrified of it. Luke, on the other hand, grew up with an absent father and a mother who faded in and out of sanity. Plus, Adele seems to pop up on so many of my mixes, I think she deserved a spot here.
2. "Beautiful Boy" ☿ John Lennon
Close your eyes,
Have no fear,
The monster's gone,
He's on the run and your daddy's here
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy
Oh. Oh. I could literally quote this entire song at you, that's how relevant it is. Picture it: Hermes, cradling a tiny Luke in his arms, wistfully singing this song to his child, just knowing that the bliss can't last. At one point the song goes, I can hardly wait, / To see you to come of age: just, so, so sad, considering the circumstances of Luke's death, ultimately. Hermes wants to protect Luke, but he knows that he has to withdraw from his life. So heartbreaking.
3. "House of the Rising Sun" ☿ Animals
Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun
This song might as well be titled House of the Rising Son. Luke here is leaving home, walking toward Camp Half-Blood and fate itself. He is abandoning the parents that abandoned him so easily, but knows that eventually, leaving will be the beginning of the end.
4. "Sinister Kid" ☿ The Black Keys
A sinister kid is a kid who
Runs to meet his Maker
A drop dead sprint from the day he's born
Straight into his Maker's arms
And that's me, that's me
The boy with the broken halo
That's me, that's me
The devil won't let me be
This is the song that made me want to make this mix. This is what the mix is named for. This song practically drips Luke Castellan, it does. I got a tortured mind/ And my blade is sharp: yes, yes you do, Luke. If I kill a man / In the first degree / Baby would you / Flee with me?: well, Annabeth didn't, but loads of other demigods did. Seriously, this song. Say it with me, now: hnnnngh.
5. "Feeling Good" ☿ Muse
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And you know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
This is Luke, embracing the freedom of leaving Camp Half-Blood; of finally being able to 'make his own choices' (though we soon learn that his choices become less his own and more Kronos's throughout the series); of finally being able to do something new and important enough to be recognized by his absent father, Hermes. There's a creepy nature to this song, though it talks about feeling good, I certainly get an ominous twinge.
6. "I Put A Spell On You" ☿ Screaming Jay Hawkins
You know I can't stand it
You're runnin' around
You know better daddy
I can't stand it 'cause you put me down
I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
You're mine
Oh yes, the creepy, creepy daddy issues, manipulation of Annabeth and all the other campers, all that rolled into a song that gives me the willies. That is definitely Luke in a nutshell. I just love how scary this song is.
7. "Sympathy For the Devil" ☿ the Rolling Stones
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
(woo woo, who who)
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
(who who, who who)
To me, this song is all about the Kronos/Luke interplay. The idea that Luke suddenly has this tremendous being inside of his body, old as dirt, more powerful than anything he's ever felt or seen--and that it's part of him, I think that's a bit of a power-trip. At least, before things start going south and Kronos starts taking over.
8. "Creep" ☿ Scala & Kolacny Brothers
But I'm a creep,
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doin' here?
I don't belong here
I don't care if it hurts,
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
And finally, here is Luke, at the end of his life, lying there on Mount Olympus, feeling the life drain out of him. He has betrayed his friends and his enemies. He has no place on earth anymore. This song is a cover of a Radiohead song by the same name, and good gods is it spine-tingle-y.
Songs + Graphics