#issac powell

[mpreghub]

AHS

[callmebrycelee]

AMERICAN HORROR STORY REACTION

This reaction is for season 11, first episode titled "Something's Coming" which originally aired on October 19, 2022. "Something's Coming" was written by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and directed by John J. Gray. Spoilers ahead!

Finally! The moment we've been waiting for all year is here! The latest season of American Horror Story debuted last week. This new season of AHS called "NYC" features a mix of old and new. We have AHS alums Billie Lourd, Denis O'Hare, Leslie Grossman, Patti LuPone, Sandra Bernhard, and Zachary Quinto joining some newcomers to the series - broadway actors Joe Mantello (Angels in America) and Isaac Powell (West Side Story) and television actors Russell Tovey (Being Human, Looking) and Charlie Carver (Desperate Housewives, The Leftovers, The Boys in the Band). We also have a new setting - New York City. 

Having watched the first two episodes, I have some thoughts as well as some theories about where this season is going. So, let's talk about it!

SOMETHING'S COMING ...

It's very rare I start a new season of American Horror Story not knowing the premise. I think not knowing what to expect is one of the main reasons as to why I thoroughly enjoyed both episodes. Speaking of episodes, let's begin with episode one, "Something's Coming". Without any fanfare, we're dropped right into early-80's New York City - 1981 to be exact. We see a pilot named Captain Ross (Lee Aaron Rosen) and a few flight attendants exit a cab and enter a hotel. While walking to his hotel room, Captain Ross is confronted by one of his coworkers, Tawny (Kelsey Lea Jones), and she comes on to him like gangbusters. Captain Ross flashes his wedding band and tells her thanks but no thanks and proceeds on to his hotel room where he proceeds to shower and dress in his finest leather gear. 

Captain Ross makes his way to a sketchy part of town and goes into a seemingly abandoned warehouse where men in various states of undress are hooking up in darkened passages. The last time we see the captain alive on screen is when we see him being watched by a muscular, masked man dressed in head to toe leather. The next thing we see is a headless body by the river. The NYPD, including a cop by the name of Patrick Read (Russell Tovey), are on the scene investigating. And if I didn't already know we were back in the 1980's, then it was made abundantly clear the moment one of the cops made a derogatory joke about the victim who is presumed gay. It's a harsh reminder that even though this scene is taking place over 40 years ago, homophobia is still an issue in 2022. 

To make matters even more bleak, we head over to Fire Island where a scientist and doctor by the name of Hannah Wells (Billie Lourd) is investigating a new virus that is threatening to wipe out the deer population on the island. Hannah suggests killing off the remaining deer before the virus has a chance to jump to humans. With this being 1981, I have a sneaking suspicion what this new virus could be.  

We learn that Patrick is gay and is living with his older partner, Gino Barelli (Joe Mantello). The two appear to be polar opposites. Patrick used to be married and is now living as a gay man, though he is closeted at work for obvious reasons. Gino is an openly gay and works as a journalist for a newspaper called 'The Native' which reports on issues concerning the gay community. They both have different approaches when it comes to the string of murders involving local gay men. While Patrick is content to quietly investigate, Gino wants to use the newspaper to shine a huge spotlight on the issue. There's obviously some tension between these two but they do seem to genuinely care about each other. 

We then meet Adam Carpenter (Charlie Carver), a young gay man currently in the middle of a breakup. His friend and roommate, Sully (Jared Reinfeldt) attempts to cheer him up by taking him to a cruising spot in the park. What I like most about Adam is his innocence which is a striking contrast to many of the characters we are introduced to in this episode. He's a romantic at heart and isn't really interested in anonymous hookups.

Adam is left alone after Sully goes off to hookup with a total stranger and that is when he sees the same muscular, masked man in the leather get-up we saw earlier in the episode. He runs away calling after Sully. Sully goes after him and is confronted by the mysterious, possibly murderous leather daddy. We hear him scream and that is the last we ever see of Sully.

Adam reports Sully's disappearance to Patrick at the police department. Adam thinks that Patrick doesn't want to help him but Patrick assures him that he does care about the situation and he does want to help but he can't and it's not because Sully is gay, it's because he hasn't been missing for more than 48 hours. He tells Adam to come back if Sully hasn't turned up in a couple of days and Adam leaves the station. 

Patrick then goes to talk to the captain, Mac Marzara (Kal Penn) about Sully and all of the recent murders but gets nowhere. I do find it interesting that we have a POC character in a position of power who could honestly give a shit that a bunch of homosexuals are being murdered. I imagine it couldn't have been easy for him to get to the position he is currently in, yet he seems intent on shitting on an entire community instead of trying to do right by them. P.S. - I love Kal Penn as an actor and as a person but the character he is playing in American Horror Story: NYC is a garbage human and I hope we get to see his comeuppance by the end of the season.

We then head over to Neptune Baths Health Club where the resident chanteuse Kathy Pizzaz (Patti LuPone) is performing "Fever" by Peggy Lee. Adam arrives and takes a seat at the bar. He notices a black and white photo of the same leather man ran into at the park and asks the bartender if he knows who the guy is. The bartender says he doesn't know who the man is but he knows who took the photograph. He points out Theo Graves (Isaac Powell) who appears to be pretty popular amongst the clientele.  

At the other end of the bar, Gino overhears the conversation with Adam and the bartender. He beckons him over and introduces himself. Gino tells Adam that the police won't help him but he will. He gives Adam his contact information. Adam goes to Theo's studio the following day and learns the identity of the masked man he saw in the park as well as in the photograph he saw in the bathhouse. Adam tells Theo that he thinks the same guy is hurting people and gives him his number to call if he finds out any more information on him. Theo rushes Adam out of the studio just in time for Sam (Zachary Quinto) to arrive. 

Sam is Theo's manager and boyfriend and it only took one line (no pun intended) for me to know this guy is bad news. Sam is every besuited businessman snorting coke off the coffee table we've ever encountered in an 80's movie and he and Theo have a really effed up romance. Sam accuses Theo of using him for his money and is trying to pressure him into going the porn route while Theo is content with the type of photography he is currently doing. Theo also senses that something dark is coming, which is where we first hear the title of the episode, but Sam seems unconcerned. Meanwhile, Patrick asks Gino about the significance of a blue handkerchief (a blue handkerchief was stuffed in the mouth of the severed head found earlier in the episode) and Gino tells him about the hanky code, a way for gay men to communicate their sexual interests. Patrick then tells Gino he is not authorized to investigate the recent murders and that he has to be careful about leaking information. He asks Gino to go to The Brownstone Bar on his behalf to gather information.

Patrick meets with his soon-to-be ex-wife named Barbara (Leslie Grossman) and presents her with divorce papers. The two of them have a pretty decent relationship considering the circumstances behind their relationship coming to an end. I also get the sense that Barbara is being as suportive as she can regarding Patrick being gay. She asks him why he married her and his answer seems genuine. Patrick, like so many gay men of his ilk, wanted to have the wife and family but ultimately he couldn't make it work. He tells her that he still loves her. It's a bittersweet scene but ultimately both of them seem better off apart than together. 

Gino heads over to the bar and chats with a regular named Henry (Denis O'Hare). Henry refuses to go on the record for Gino but he does give him a valuable piece of information: all of the serial killer's victims drink Mai Tais. When Gino goes to leave, he realizes he's been drugged. As he stumbles out of the bar, he is ushered into a car by a strange man. 

Sam is also at the Brownstone Bar and he's talking with an up and coming actor named Freddy (John Bubniak), arranging for him to be photographed by Theo as a means of garnering him exposure. Freddy arrives at Theo's studio and what starts as a homoerotic photoshoot turns into something a bit more scandalous when Sam flips over a wooden stool and asks him to sit on it. Freddy does follow through and Sam is pleased with the photos. When Freddy leaves, Theo asks Sam about Big Daddy. Sam gets upset and tells Theo that Big Daddy is dead. It should be noted that Big Daddy was standing outside of Theo's studio and that Sam seemingly acknowledges his presence. 

Adam meets up with Theo at the bathhouse and tells him about Big Daddy. Adam is perplexed because the person he saw in the photo is the same person he saw at the park the night Sully disappeared. Theo lives to go hook up and Adam is propositioned by Freddy. Adam declines his offer for sex and Freddy heads off to the steam room where he runs into Big Daddy. We end the episode the way we started with a very bleak scene and a sign of things to come. We find ourselves back on Fire Island with Dr. Hannah Wells as she watches a group of infected deer get slaughtered by the police. It's a harsh reminder of the storm that's about to come in the form of the AIDS epidemic. 

I'm gonna pause my reaction here and do my reaction to episode two in another post. This first episode feels very different from previous first episodes of American Horror Story. The characters, whether you loved them or hated them, felt really grounded. I really like Gino and a lot of that is due to Joe Mantello's acting. I also like Adam who reminds me a lot of myself in my earlier years. It's fun to see Leslie Grossman play someone so understated this season and I wonder how Barbara will be used in future episodes. The only character I dislike and it has nothing to do with the actor is Sam. Sam is a sleeze ball and I wonder what dark secrets he's hiding. The only character I'm truly on the fence about is Patrick. Patrick is giving me John Lowe (Wes Bentley) in "Hotel" vibes. I get the feeling he's a troubled individual but is he a bad guy? Cops, historically, on this show have turned out to be bad guys.

As for the episode itself - it felt surprisingly restrained in a way I'm not really used to with American Horror Story. As an avid fan of the show, I can also be one of its biggest critics. I've been a fan of Ryan Murphy since Popular and I have no problem admitting that while he swings big when it comes to film and television, he has just as many misses as hits. The same can be said about this show. Many would argue the show has lost the magic of the original seasons, but I think this episode is a promise of that magic returning. We're off to a great start. I just hope the writers can stick the landing at the end. 

I will post my reaction to episode two tomorrow. Until next time ...

[coldasyou]

Make me chose meme: @bunchsrebecca  asked Fun Home or Once on this Island?

I'm here in the field With my feet on the ground And my fate in the air Waiting for life to begin!

[yourghosthost]

The ones who knew such tenderness, The ones who felt so sure.

Broadway Couples Series 2: The Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen, Amélie, Anastasia, Bandstand, Once On This Island, Spring Awakening, Mean Girls, Head Over Heels, Hadestown

Available here. Series 1. Behance.

[rlnataliarostova-blog]

PSA

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND BETTER WIN ALL THE TONY’S THIS YEAR OR I AM PUNCHING SOMEONE

[rlnataliarostova-blog]

Once on this Island Revival CR Things

- the ensemble in general?? like there backup vocals are amazing??

- the harmonies in we dance ahhhh heaven for my ears

- the gods introducing themselves just gives me chills because they’re all so powerful 

- the way alex newell says asaka is just amazing

- merle dandrige in general?

- i love when everyone sings in unison it’s just gr8

- ALL THE GODS TBH

- Hailey Kilgore belting like a queen in waiting for life

- Ti Moune’s cute lil accent

- “more amuuuSing than mangooos..”

- The reverb when Papa Ge says “i will make her..choose!”

- Quentin singing rain is A+++++++

- All the backup vocals in rain is soooooo gooood

- The noise at the end of rain when the car crashes ahhhhhh

- “JULIEN! WHERE IS MY JULIEN BRING MY JULIEN HOOOOOOoooOOOOME!”

- Hailey Kilgore’s voice in forever yours

- Ti Moune and Daniel’s haRMoniesss

- Papa Ge’s entrance in forever yours is so creepy and i LoVe it !!!!!

- “Your life is forEEEEver mineeeeeee” “ANd i am yooooooouuuuuuuuurrssss”

- Papa Ge’s evil laugh at the end of forever yours gives me chills everytime like wtf merle dandrige??

- Daniel’s dad in the Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes

- “they despise for our blackness, it reminds them where they’re from” that lyric gets me everytime 

- TI MOune is the saddest song ever like?? ugh?? i’m not crying you are??

- “Mama will Provideee OOOOoooooOOOOOh”

- Mama wil......prOVIDEEEEEEEEEEEIIIEEEEEEDDDE” 

- I don’t understand how Alex Newell still has vocal chords but DAMN

- Lea singing The Human Heart is so angelic and magic for your ears

- THE ENSEMBLE DOES IT AGAIN WITH THOSE BOMB AF BACKUP VOCALS

- The harmonIEEEESSSSS

- “i know what he sees in a peasant like her, probably make him RISE LIKE YEAST” that line makes me laugh every time, i am so immature but like

- can we talk about how amazing issac powell is?? like his voice?? his acting?? his everything?? I want to hug him

- some girls is so underrated but it is so important and i love how issac sounds while singing it

- “some girls you marry, some you love”

- “ THE GRAND HOMME AT THE HOTEL BEAUXHOMME” (lol i said this the way they do in the show loll)

- “Your own pretty...well, what’s the word?” 

- Ti Moune’s dance is so lit

- “you’ll dance for daniel and for meeEEe when we are wed.” :(((((

- the fact that andrea had to tell ti moune makes me upset inside

- daniel is horrible 2k18

-  “WE’LL RACE AWAY IN A CAAAAAAAAR” 

- “promises, the gods demand you KEEEEEEEEPPP”

- the music in the forever yours reprise is soooo scary like i was so shook while listening to it even though i knew it was coming

- THE F’ING HARMONIES BETWEEN PAPA GE AND ERZULIE

- This is where Once on this Island makes everyone cry

- Ti Moune nnnnooooooooo

- “You will always be a part of us” *grabs tissue boxes*

- “THIS IS WHHYY WE TELL THE STORYYYY”  

- “our lives become the stories that we weave...” *sobs uncontrollably*

ok this is some of my favorite things/things i noticed while listening to the OOTI Revival Cast recording. I love OOTI sm it deserves everything. GO LISTEN TO IT IF YOU HAVEN’T

[steamed-tets]

can u do all of the oc questions

Le holy shit bro! I didn’t think anyone was that interested in them! Sure thing bro!

But since I have a number of OC’s, I’ll answer these all for Issac because he’s my baby and I talk about him a lot! 

Character Creation Questions

1: Origins! How did you come up with the concept for your OC?

The first concept for Issac was that he was a kind of shy nerd that was deaf. I wanted to have a variety in my OC’s because to me they all kind of seem like Mary Sue’s in a way so I wanted to mix it up some what, his character has changed a bit since then, but not a bunch!

2: Were they originally well received by the fandom? Or if they’re fandomless, did the RP community take to them right away or was it hard to get attention?

Issac is the only one I have an RP blog and I can’t get any one to rp with him, but I also blame myself because I def do not put enough effort into that blog.

3: Has your OC gone through different incarnations during their stay on Tumblr? Were they reimagined or have they stayed the same all this time?

Maybe minor details I wouldn’t think of off-hand have changed, but in honestly couldn’t tell you what exactly XD

4: How do you get into your OC’s mindset to write for them? How do you find the muse for them?

I have been told that a part of me is in each of my OC’s, but I honestly can’t see it? Like I look at the differences between them. Issac is deaf for example and can see from both eyes. I can hear perfectly fine and can only see out of one eye! XD It’s things like that so I have to sit and think for a moment like, “okay would he actually do this or not?”

5: Were you nervous about putting your OC out there? How long did it take before you decided to play your OC here on Tumblr.

I’m nervous about doing any kind of writing for my OC’s. I had wanted to RP with Issac to try and develop his character but that never really happened XD but it did take a lot of convincing on behalf of my bro to get me to make his blog XD

IC Interaction Questions

6: What is your OC’s family situation? Do they get along? Do they fight? Or are they alone?

Issac is a single child to a loving mother and father. Compared to Andrew, Issac is fucking living in paradise…

7: What does your OC look for in a friend? Do they value friendship a lot?

The communication barrier has always been tough for him since public schools don’t offer things like how to teach sign language and not everyone knows how to do it. Other than that, he’s a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.Optimistic and all that. He’s kind of like Phineas Flynn in that way XD

8: What does your OC look for in a significant other? Are they looking at all?

According to the universes canon (which only me and like one other person know XD) Issac is just fine with being single, up until he meets Michael! Sparks fly and all that cute shit.

9: What is your OC like when at work? Are they diligent? Slacker? Do they get along with their co-workers?

During summer vacations, Issac works part-time at the local library, teaching sign language to all ages. He tried to help everyone there to help them get it right and encourages them even though he knows he’ll probably never be able to hear them thank him and all that. He just really likes helping people.

10: How do they deal with strangers?

Like a normal person would usually. Unless someone has bumped into him. Because everytime it happens, whoever bumped into him will start apologizing and all that and it takes him half a minute everytime to get a word in to say that hes deaf but that it’s okay.

Inside the Muse’s Mind Questions

11: Is there a place they go to in order to escape the world, the stresses of life? What’s their favourite place?

He likes spending time in his room, in the park reading or with Michael (after they meet of course XD).

12: What scent calms them? Reminds them of home or something soothing?

Minty stuff usually.

13: Do they have any favourite foods? Would they eat it all the time if they had the chance? What do they hate to eat?

He has this huge thing for chocolate pudding. You could probably put crack in it and he wouldn’t know it until he was high and flipping a shit.

14: Pet peeves. Tell us what would really tick them off. Do they have a Berserk Button? Idk if it would be a peeve, but it irritates him that Tony will get so excited about something and start screaming at him about how excited he is and manage to constantly forget that Issac can’t fUCKING HEAR HIM!!!

15: Does your OC have any awful fears? Do they get paralyzed with fear or can they work through their fears?

Being so optimistic, he loves making people happy. His biggest fears include losing his friends and family, disappointing them, or upsetting them.

16: What are concepts they value? Virtues? What do they look down upon?

He values people who are willing to understand and not judge based on looks or what someone likes. 

17: Do they have any guilty pleasures? They embarrassed about them? Do they flaunt them?

Bitch he will eat all the chocolate pudding and be happy about that boy loves his damn pudding.

18: Do they have a guilty conscience? Why? Did they ever do something they totally regretted?

He’ll only feel super guilty about something if he knows it’s directly his fault and he’ll go to fix it straight away. It pisses him off when ever people try to guilt trip him into stuff. 

Miscellaneous Questions

19: Have they ever been injured? Sick? How do they deal with it?

He’s deaf does that count? 

20: What are Tropes you associate with your muse?

HAHA IDK

21: Name an embarrassing situation that your muse has been in.

One day he’s running up to Michael to hug him, and he trips and falls right into his arms and Michael makes some stupid pun like “Falling for me are you?” while smirking and a majority of the school saw it and yeah!

22: If given a million dollars, what would your OC do?

End world hunger probably

23: Any ships for your OC?

IssacXMichael is a canon thing that happens so yes XD

24: Have you ever gotten anon hate because of your OC?

Nope

25: What are your plans for your muse in the future?

LOL IDK THAT EITHER!