#pulp musicals episode three

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

PULP EPISODE THREE GUEST CAST!! PULP EPISODE THREE GUEST CAST!! PULP EPISODE THREE GUEST CAST!!

!!!!!!

Okay, so what does this tell us?

We're TOTALLY going on the Ellen Austin and having some fun with ghost ships. Huck being in the main guest cast pretty much confirms it.

MORE TRAVELER! I don't really have much to say about this other than I'm super psyched for all the upcoming Lore and Answers. Could the radiance and Margaret's people have something to do with the ghost ship the Ellen Austin will find?

We may be inching ever closer to my dream casting of Jeff Blim as the Captain of the Ellen Austin and I am HYPED

[its-short-for-jackalope]

pssst, hey.

did. did anybody else see the latest pulp musicals instagram story?

👁👁

👉🏻👈🏻

pulp musicals instagram:

me, just waking up:

[stratfordsandthestars]

i would like to promote matt dahan's radio-musical series, pulp musicals bc it is SORELY underappreciated. it features james tolbert, mariah rose faith, curt mega w other starkid members making guest appearances (kim whalen and jaime lynn beatty are featured in the second episode) and is based on a real lide event where a struggling new york newspaper began claiming their was proof of intelligent life and a civilization on the moon.

in the musical, the stratford twins, rose and samuel, are behind the plot, using famous astronomer john herschel's name within the lie to add more credibility, claiming the information comes from his journals. chaos ensues as everyone believes the lie and they end up digging themselves further into the mess as the newspaper samuel works for keeps wanting more stories from john herschel's journals leading to betrayals and ppl who they never expected to discover their lie discover it. and that's just in episode 1!

the songs and lyrics and music in general is gorgeous highly recommend.

[pulpmusicals]

The test of time rarely comes at the best of times… PULP MUSICALS Episode 4: The Searcher in the Shadows, drops from the clouds on Monday, September 9th. Cover art by @jackiehorrorshow

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Air dates - including reruns of previous episodes - coming next week. All characters in this audio drama are voiced by James Tolbert, Mariah Rose Faith Casillas, Curt Mega, Natalie Llerena, Kim Whalen, Jesse Bhamrah, Virginia Vass, Jackie Franco, and Matt Dahan.

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The format and presentation of a Pulp Musical is the mid-20h century radio show, so the launch of Episode 4 will once again honor the past - with a modern twist. Starting on the date of the album release, each of the radio musicals’ three half-hour parts will “air” on the Pulp Musicals YouTube channel and be kept live for a full 24 hours before being removed. As your narrator, I will be on the airwaves and in the chat to talk all things Pulp as we broadcast to the world from 1874. I will also be on Instagram Live after each episode for an ‘After-Pulp’, diving into what just aired and answering questions… who knows what special guests might show up?

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Don’t be scared of the dark… that is where the dreaming starts. - M

[fallinginaforrest]

I made a Pulp Musicals timeline.

And I would like your help to make it better.

This is what I have so far, based only on what has been given to us in the lyrics of the three episodes. I tried to do the math based on those lyrical clues and therefore may have the timescale wrong in some places! This is a helpful tool if you're listening for the first time and struggling with time scale, or if you're theorizing and need something to refer to.

I'd call it a general overview, and I'm always looking for ways to fix it, add to it, make it a little more comprehensive so please- in the notes if you have any amendments!

Thank you for reading and i hope you have a good timezone.

[amethystunarmed]

A John Herschel Character Study

I have a lot of feelings about John that go into how I characterize him so I decided to organize them in an “essay” for Day 14: Family of @pulpmusicalsfortnight2024. This is my deep dive into how John's family and childhood affect him today, going into his character arc in the three published episodes of Pulp Musicals. Obviously your mileage may vary but this is the basis for my characterization of John when I write him. Inspired by @eggingtontoast's wonderful analyses of Karen Chasity and Jeri from the Hatchetfield series. Huge thanks to @snarky-wallflower for betaing this for me!

So starting in his childhood:

In the few lines we get about him, John's father is described as being firm and no nonsense.

In Polaris, John says that his father would be “unamused” by him playing a game with his astronomy knowledge and that would say “[You're] just tracing lines 'round things [I] spent [my] life to find.” Specifically, John noted that his father would be against it as it provided “no real benefit to society.” To me, these quotes are just a little too specific to be speculation; I bet William Herschel said this to John before, especially since John knows all the constellations despite his father apparently believing them to be unimportant.

I speculate that William Herschel has constantly reinforced this concept in John, that science isn't fun, it's important and respectable, and that John needed to be important and respectable in turn. And I think John took it to heart over the years. John's reputation is clearly incredibly important to him. He is also deeply concerned about what his father thinks of him, almost to the point of terror, in my opinion. 

He moved his entire project thousands of miles away and constructed it in total secrecy just so his father wouldn't learn if he failed. Samuel is so sure John's dad must be proud of him, but all John seems to feel is afraid. 

His reputation is tied so tightly together with his father's, that John's own failings will reflect onto him, and John's life is a constant comparison to his father's works. John even says that people consider his actions to be an extension of his father's “dreams... hopes, and fears” in Through a Glass. The shadow is long and all-encompassing, and John seems to feel the weight of it heavily. “The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, when they put a glass to me.” 

Whether William Herschel intended this or not, the constant pressure from both his father and society has led John to develop an unhealthy fear of failure and being seen as lacking, and all of this ties into his public persona. He needs to be taken seriously, and puts on this front of being stern and unflappable.  

His isolation only adds to this. He claims that he prefers being alone when he speaks to Rose in It's a Hoax (Reprise)/Carry On. “I should be in another hemisphere alone with the milky way.” We know he gets letters from Anna, his exception, the one person (so far) that he lets his walls down around, but other than that, he is utterly alone. He is “away from the world, but close to [his] heart.” He even admits this was intentional in the Shifts Reprise, that he “built a wall ten miles high of essays, books, and quips.” All John needs is his studies and the sky. He has removed himself from humanity entirely, and has been that way for three years.

This is the John we meet in Before the Storm and It's a Hoax (Reprise)/Carry On.

John comes in and is immediately uptight and no nonsense. This makes sense, given the ramifications of the hoax; John's reputation and most likely his father's opinion are highly on the line. He seems unpleasant at first, an antagonist to the twins’ writing dreams but... He is very quickly taken with Rose.

He doesn't want to be, initially seeming confused and standoffish towards her questions about his work, but she barrels through his defenses. He enjoys that connection, softens, calls her Rose.

Until he learns what she's done and that persona snaps right back in place, his commitment to his reputation and the validity of his name superseding that genuine human connection.

Then, John witnesses something impossible. Margaret glowing. The Radiance. A scientific marvel straight out of a fairy tale.

And we've reached John's Choice.

Because in my opinion, it is not just John's Choice for the story, but of what kind of man he is going to be.

This is where Benjamin comes in. Benjamin serves as John's foil in the Great Moon Hoax. We've witnessed his story; of Benjamin's initial wonder with Hoax, the way the writing moved him enough that he risked everything and gave it a platform, only to betray both it and the Stratfords in the end. 

Benjamin loved the story but there was always that undercurrent of greed and a focus on the money and social status that could be gained, i.e. his “We'll be rich by the end of the day.” in Is it True?

On the other hand, though John came in upset over the story and the damage it could do to his reputation, he has always been a little enamored with the Hoax. He says it was good! He mostly focuses on the science, but also says that in another life, he and the writer could have gotten along. He likes it, despite himself.

The Hoax lit that spark in him again, the one William Herschel saw no value in. Margaret's Radiance fanned the flames.

And so, when push comes to shove, John chooses the Hoax, the story. He chooses the whimsy and creativity and a world with no laws of gravity. He laughs. He becomes the story teller for a theoretical Great Astronomical Discoveries #4, and he “gives it all” to the crowd gathered. He even assists in getting Chester Thomas to continue publishing fiction!

As Benjamin writes himself out of the story, John writes himself into it.

And we see a whole different side to John in the Brick Satellite as this shift in his values continues! He has moments of that initial stuffiness, when he gets all huffy over the Moon Hoax (but never truly mad, not in the way Margaret is), but he shows more of himself, removing bricks from his own personal walls as they add the bricks to the Satellite.

He plays games with Rose on the ship during Polaris, he reveals his vulnerabilities to Samuel in Through a Glass. Samuel even recognizes him as one of their own during this song. When John says, “Imagining’s what you do,” Samuel replies, “A trait I share with you.” John isn't just a scientist, he's a dreamer who imagines a better world, just like the Stratfords. 

This culminates in John and the Earth, the tipping point. Because, the roles are fully reversed from so long ago in South Africa. John looks down at the Earth, at all the people he had walled himself away with for so long, and he loves them so fiercely he cries. He stands in the gift he created for humanity on his own dime with no recompense expected and he says “Heaven's not up here in the sky, heaven’s down there.”

He has looked to the heavens his whole life. It was what was expected of him, the footsteps he was supposed to follow. But looking at the Earth, he sees it. Sees what matters. He has never “felt so small”, away from all the fame and status his name and reputation give him. But he has also never felt “more part of it all.” Because that is John's story, the astronomer who falls in love with the Earth again.

(And falls in love with Rose, but he's still working on that one.)

[kmesons]

there's a lot to be said about pulp musicals, but one of the things I really love about it and haven't seen much discussion about is the bits of symmetry between the episodes. the repetitions of motifs. not just musical leitmotifs—that's a post for another time—but in particular, the naming scheme for these songs:

it's kind of trivial, and you could argue that the names don't really matter, but I think it's just really cool that, in some way, the songs in each album reflect the original nature of pulp stories: plots would differ from one to the next, but there were certain constants. these three similarly named sets of three songs from each pulp episode are neat to me because they are able to convey this feeling, these patterns, to us as an audience through a completely different medium than the pulp stories they're inspired by.

[proofsiege]

My Lestat spotify playlist;

With explanation(rant) because Im a dork who is very proud of this and I love this guy could talk about him till my voice bubbles and words crack

Playlist here <

> 4 minute warning, Radiohead

Probably more book Lestat, are they really that different from eachother? but specifically Lord Wolfkiller, early Lestat, pre and just post transformation Lestat, Lestat who's dragged out his bedroom window and begs for God, his denial and unwelcomed embrace from the dark gift. (When i find you magnus...)

> La mer, nine inch nails

> Bury me deep inside, HIM

It wouldn't be Lestat without some rock, and it most definitely wouldnt be Lestat without HIM, yearning rock songs if that doesn't scream him then I don't know what does, oh wow could this song be used to explain so much of him haha Lestat stalking Louis through New Orleans completely encapsulated by him, falls head over heels for a man he doesn't know and creates this perfect picture of who Louis is and what they could be, the man who just lets Louis beat him to a pulp and then cries attachment issues, his first love Nicolas and we all know how that (well, he) ended. Lestat who says himself the only way he'd die is from murder, he would never turn to the fire with Louis there.

> The fall, Gary Numan

ROCKSTAR LESTAT!!! ROCKSTAR LESTAT!!!

> Love me, love and rockets

So love this song so much, sums up season three i feel pretty well, going to be lots of things going on especially with past lovers, best believe when the scenepacks are out i will be on that like hound to a fox people!!

> Leash called love, The sugarcubes

BJORK! Sums up lestats thoughts on armand after episode 8 lol Believing and being confused as to why Louis stayed with Armand under the assumption that he knew he was the one who actually saved him, this poor boy. (Hes a murderer)

> The search of my rose, The tear garden

Guys... m*gnus.. vomit, don't shoot the messenger now, a reflection of how his maker consistently is always shadowing over his current relationships, with louis, you either get it or you don't!!

> Musette and drums, cocteau twins

> Into the light, Siouxsie and the banshees

> The way things are, Fiona apple

HOW NOONE HAS SEEN THE ALIKENESS BETWEEN HIM AND THIS SONG IS INSANE. "how could I fight? when were on the same side, how could I fight? beside you" Especially now with what we know about lestat and Louis during that argument. Wake up people!!!

That is the end! I have many many more playlists, for claudia, louis and armand ,finding music is my past time if I'm trapped on an island give me unlimited data with access to Google I would be the happiest person. Turn me into a vampire so I can listen to music for eternity.

[loverlylight]

Hello there!

So, some friends and I ( @amethystunarmed, @faery-people-of-the-future-day, @its-short-for-jackalope, @oswaldpettyeye, @snarky-wallflower, @starlightsparrowfox ) have been discussing a Pulp Musicals AU where we combine a variety of different fairy tales into a single story. I thought it would be interesting to share the list of fairy tales we're using and find out what other people who enjoy Pulp Musicals think we would cast to play what parts in the different stories!

Here are the fairy tales we have in the AU:

Beauty and the Beast

Little Red Riding Hood

Rumplelstiltskin

Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty

The Frog Prince

The Little Mermaid

Hint: The only named characters we've met in the first three episodes who don't have roles are Chester, Amos, and Elijah, and some Pulp characters play roles in more than one fairy tale. Also, the roles are just for the main dynamic + main villain from each tale.

Would love to hear any and all guesses!

[starcanwrecked-sexyman-bracket]

Listen, I know some people think but the printing press plate from pulp musicals is only in this tournament as a joke (and it is funny) BUT! I would like to submit propaganda for its legitimate inclusion as well!

The printing press plate is universally beloved side "character". Both the characters in canon and all the real life people I have witnessed listening cheer when it makes its appearances in the three episodes.

It's a 2-D flat shape, a la Bill Cipher, one of the most famous Tumblr sexy men of all time, which also gives it the "why are you attracted to this?" Flare.

Its committed many crimes, knocked out several people, and yet, we're all still obsessed with it. There have been talks of riots if it doesn't make an appearance in Pulp 4.

Tldr; the Pulp Musicals Printing Press Plate is a legit contender and I hope you all will help us get it to the end!

I really don't want it to win but... Ugh you have a point

[persephone-28]

I’m very late to the party but listening to the first episode of the Pulp Musicals and it’s so good!! The music is insanely good, Matt Dahan’s talent has no bounds. Such an interesting story and I know I’m biased cause it has three Starkid members in it but I am blown away by the vocals 😍

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

Fondly remembering when Jeff was first announced for Ghosts of Antikythera and I literally screamed in my kitchen and scared my dog

[its-short-for-jackalope]

it (the trailer + title) is here !!!

so, pulp musicals fam... how're we doin today?

[vesperione]

No because sometimes you click with someone so ridiculously hard you end up making an alternate fanfic universe to fix every part of emotional pain you're put through. We don't know how it ends, and we won't for a while, so me and @the-spaced-out-ace are doing what we do best and fixing Episode Four in a Hatchetfield x Pulp Musicals AU and here is the cast aka the reason I love it so much.

(And this is always just for fun.)

Samuel Stratford is now Peter Spankoffski, selfless scientist with a heart of gold, determined to protect his (younger) sister from the horrors the two are about to encounter.

Rose Stratford is now Ruth Fleming, a wannabe writer, oftentimes shy, with a thrill for adventure (even if her anxiety prevents her from experiencing the joys of life.) In New York City, her and her parents found a scrawny young boy on the path (Peter) and took him in, unofficially adopting him. When her parents passed away within days of each other when the two of them were 18, Peter became her sworn protector, ensuring that she remains at her happiest. She is mostly content making bricks.

Benjamin Park is now Grace Chasity, who continues to try to sabotage Peter and Ruth by trying to get them to join the church!

Margeret Cavendish is now Stephanie Lauter, a woman trying to find her place in the world with a constant sense of longing and unfamiliarity surrounding her unless she is in the presence of the moon.

Chester Thomas is now Henry Hidgens. Because, no matter the timeline, would do anything to get Workin Boys produced (spoiler alert: he succeeds)

John Herschel is now Richard Lipschitz. Specifically Richard, never Richie, the man is a celebrity, catching wind of what the Fleming siblings were saying about him all the way in Japan during his studies. It is he who encourages the siblings (and Stephanie) to join him on his travels. Through him, they will encounter seas, storms, space and strenghts they never thought they'd get to see.

(and everyone else is beneath the cut, HEAVY on pulp 4 spoilers)

Anna Hanover is now Alice Woodward, Richard's best friend with a heart for mathematics and protection. She worked hard to bring her vision to life, not stopping for anything. She was quick to befriend the three new workers Richard brought to her, and even quicker to tease Richard regarding his newfound feelings for a certain Miss Fleming.

Charles T Coram is now Charles Coven because why would he be anyone else? Theyre both powerful. They're both incredibly rich. They'd both do anything to get more power. That's it.

Sia is now Sophia, also known as Spitfire. As the most powerful traveller in her group, she's been keeping a watchful eye on the stragglers from The Blazing World with an aim to protect and move those she loves dearest to safety.

AJ Griffin is now John McNamara because there are. Many obvious reasons I fear I don't need to explain but for those unfamiliar, AJ is a ship captain who fought in the civil war with mad trauma. John McNamara is a general with probably more trauma. They're both Jeff Blim. Thank u x

Morgan Reese is now Xander Lee, the bosun of the ship Ellen Austin and John McNamara's "roommate" who would dedicate his entire life to serving his ship's captain.

(Amos and Elijah are two whole random PEIP agents)

Kalfu is now Maxwell Jagerman, a powerful young man aiming to hurt, manipulate and kill for his own gain to get to the gates.

Ahlaam is now Hannah Foster who I would not put as Sia because frankly the girl's been through enough. A bubbly young girl with an eye to defend, Hannah has done her best in making sure she loses no more people from her life.

Dakaar is now Brad Callahan because literally any time me and Ember write together, Brad is either a complete and utter OPP or Steph's number one sibling figure. It was between him and Richie. And no. This isn't just because I'm insane abt the toxic qbs but yeah that too x

Addison Arvad is now Jenny Kilgore!!! Who is Wilkinson in this AU because firstly fuck time bastard its our au im nick lang now it's my rules. Captain of the Antikythera, Jenny and her son, Cameron, have been searching for many, many years to locate a certain Spankoffski just to make sure he's okay. She's kind, courageous and Lincoln Island's motherly figure to go to for advice. She will not ever let a child get hurt in her defence (if she can help it)

Taavi is now Ted Spankloffski because we shifted the roles around a little bit and also haha ted dies in every timeline funny funny funny. ANYWAY.

King Itzal is now Solomon Lauter if that was not already OBVIOUSSSSS. it makes so much sense.

anyway tldr there are no plans for this to launch on ao3. however. we are 60k words deep and haven't even reached antikythera yet. so. it's going here now.

[pulpmusicals]

Hyped for Pulp 4 but need a recap? Just jumping into the Pulp-verse and want the full experience? Catch up on Pulp Musicals before Episode 4 is released on September 9th with PULP RERUNS, broadcasting on the Pulp Musicals YouTube every other day starting August 22nd. (Link in bio)

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We will once again be broadcasting Pulp in its entirety leading up to the release of Episode 4: The Searcher in the Shadows.

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Every episode of Pulp is told in three half hour parts, with videos featuring the art of Jackie Franco (@jackiehorrorshow) that originally ‘aired’ on YouTube between 2021-2023.

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Each part will be made available for a full twenty four hours before the videos vanish into the airwaves.

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🌗 Episode 1: THE GREAT MOON HOAX

Part 1 - THURSDAY AUGUST 22nd

Part 2 - SATURDAY AUGUST 24th

Part 3 - MONDAY AUGUST 26th

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🧱 Episode 2: THE BRICK SATELLITE

Part 1 - WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28th

Part 2 - FRIDAY AUGUST 30th

Part 3 - SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1st

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⚓️ Episode 3: THE GHOSTS OF ANTIKYTHERA

Part 1 - TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3rd

Part 2 - THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5th

Part 3 - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7th

[You can also listen to Pulp 1-3 on iTunes and Spotify right now! Link in bio! The sky’s the limit and the stars await! 📻]

[chaotic-goodsir]

It's taking some serious restraint to not look through the pulp musicals tag until I've finished all three episodes.