Renfarber​:

starter for: @norahphobia​ where: empire diner in chelsea

leo had to admit that he was a sucker for train styled diners. historic and rare were two attributes he’ll always admire. he had fond memories of diners such as this. once he was old enough to legally work, leo would bus tables and wash dishes. he admired the blue, silver chromium diner as he sat in a booth, waiting for his dinner date. and eventually, he shifted his gaze to the street outside. and then he had been sitting there long enough for the waitress to give the table two glasses of water. 

“You’re late,” Leo said immediately as Norah had came into view. “I’ve already called the cops.” He said, crossing his arms in front of him. He looked at her accusingly as if he was blaming her for something he obviously didn’t do. He was masking his bit of worry with a joke. 

NEW GIRL (2011—2018)

SEASON ONE, EPISODE TWELVE The Landlord

xbhandri​:

@le0davis​

“Okay but listen. Hear me out. The stage lights pop on. We’re standing in a line. The piano starts playing. Everyone immediately gets emotional. Suddenly everyone knows how many minutes are in a year. Is it stable? No. It’s New York City in the 1980′s during the AIDs epidemic. We’re here. We’re queer. We’re dying and Regan isn’t doing shit about it. You know what will fix approximately none of our problems? Love.” Xavier had found out they were reviving RENT again and he would throw Wicked down the drain if he could land a roll. He was nearing the end of his contract anyway. He could just switch from one to another, right? He had only been on the stage for a handful of years, and while Fiyero have him everything he could ever want, the roll while main wasn’t big. He wanted more. He wanted more meaning. 

A scarecrow was all find and dandy, but it wasn’t the love of his life, the dream role. Angel Dumott Schunard. He still didn’t know if she was a trans woman, a drag queen, or genderfluid, but to dress up as Mrs Claus and prance around a stage, only to die in the most emotional Broadway death known to man? He could still remember the first time he saw the musical and how it had changed his whole damn life. 

“Leo, it’s not stable, but nothing in life is. Do you want your baby thinking her dad is lame? Those who can’t act teach. Audition with me.”

-

Leo’s mouth opened in the middle of Xavier’s spiel. He so clearly saw the cast in a line singing ... Seasons of Love straight out into the audtence. The two friends had confinded in each other that their dream roles were in RENT. A show that was in the pre-production of returing back to broadway. He understood that to Xav that it was an oppurtunity that must be taken. But Leo wasn’t as starry eyed. 

“Don’t bring Mira into this.” He said, becoming slightly defensive at the mention of his daughter. Though that was chord that needed to be struck. Leo actually heard what Xavier meant. Being an acting coach was always supposed to be temporary. Something to do until he had gotten a break. But it took over, he began auditioning less to not at all. He fell into his own hell of repeating the same day over and over. So much so that he became a regular at a bar, and developed a dependency on alcohol and sex just to get through a Monday. This wasn’t how life was supposed to be. This isn’t the spotlight he was meant for. He sat there unaware of the spark that was growing in his chest.

His eyes still looking at his best friend incredulously. “I - Xav - you can’t really truly think that I’d ever be good enough to get Roger.” He was scared.  It was a huge leap into auditioning. Maybe he could start off small in non-speaking roles. He didn’t want to take that risk of auditioning for a role he had always coveted. He wasn’t as brave as Xavier. “You are no doubt in my mind are going to get Angel. Just gotta practice the drums. I, on the other hand, am gonna get laughed out at the door with no credits to my name.”

YOU | 2.03 “What Are Friends For?”

nate-jones​:

In a way, Nate expected to be punched, shoved, or have soemthing else done to him. It was New York, where people were always on a high alert, and being defensive was no surprise. After all, this was on him; he was a complete stranger following someone home, it was almost as if he was begging for something to happen. To his surprise, however, the man actually seemed worried, and at his request, he nodded along, taking a deep breath- and a step back, to give the other the privacy he had been depraved of.

“Oh yeah. I probably should have called you, right?” Funnily enough, the idea of calling the man never even came to Nate’s mind. It would have been so much smarter to do that, but then again, would he have gotten anything out of it? Would he had just ended the call once he had heard that Nate had no money to pay for the classes? “Sorry about that. I just assumed it’s easier this way, you know? But now that I really think about it, this is creepy. I mean, I kind of wanted to approach you after class, rather than follow you, but-” But he was ranting once more, and, smiling sheepishly, Nate shut up, instead taking another deep breath as he held onto his backpack.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated once more, knowing that he had to start all over again, and, most likely, be really, really quick about it. How long could he keep the man waiting like that before the other lost his patience? Not that Nate expected it from him, but he simply understood; he understood how frustrating it must have been to have a complete stranger follow you like that. “I know you’re an absolutely fantastic acting coach, and I’ve been  trying to branch myself out. I’m a dancer- I’m a ballet dancer at NYCB- and I know how limited that sounds, but I’ve done a lot when it comes to different styles of dancing, and just choreography in general. I also know how to fight. But I really, really want to learn how to act, or even get some tips on how to do it, how to start.” By no means was he anywhere close to being good at that. And right now, he was struggling to even attempt to sell himself. “The thing is, I only have enough money for what’s probably one lesson, at best. But I’m willing to do whatever you need- if you need anything!“ He probably had plenty of contacts  everywhere, but it didn’t hurt to try. Probably.

-

“Yeah you should have called me,” leo couldn’t help but repeat the kid’s words like he was making a joke. it would have saved leo the surprise. he hated surprises unless he was the one to cause them. he listened to the kid’s explanation and apology once more. though leo waved off the apology, he wanted him to get to the point. leo’s eyes squinted and his brows moved up and down as he took the guy’s verbal resume that was tumbling onto to leo’s ears. he blinked when the boy was finished and lips pursed wondering how he could even respond to all of that.

“A ballet dancer?” Leo sized him up, not hiding it in his eyes that he was surprised. “Look, kid, charity work is probably good and all, but I don’t have time for it.” He said, a reflex reaction to being asked to do something for free. Though Leo had been on the other side many of times. He still wasn’t completely sure if he should help the boy out. Leo continued to look at him, still evaluating everything he had learned from other’s ranting. But if he had the dedication to be a ballet dancer in New York and be able to make it into the NYCB... Leo could practically taste the potential. and passion was easy to see in the kid’s kind eyes. Plus having someone owing you a favor in the city was always a good thing to possess. 

“Tell you what, kid, you pay for the first lesson, and I’ll decide if you even have the chops to continue trying to act. If you do, then I’m sure we could figure out something out.” He said and with an open palm patted the kid on the back once. “Just do not ever follow me, again.” He glared down his nose as a warning, but in the same instance took out his wallet. Leo plucked a business card from one of the slits and offered it to the boy. “These are my contacts, use them.” He said, amused with himself. “Now do you have a name, sport?”

xbhandri​:

@le0davis​

“Don’t you dare say anything. I don’t want to know. Just because you’re teaching my ex-husband how to act does not mean I want to know if he word vomited anything about our night together. Tell me everything.” Xavier quickly backtracked on what he was rambling about. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Why is sex so good? Not with him. Okay, like, with him, but in general. I meant in general.” He scrunched his face with a small tilt to his head. Taking a sip of his drink, he tried to ignore the feelings instead. “So what about Broadway. What’s your dream role, lover boy?”

-

Leo laughed after Xavier went on a little tangent. His relationship between Nate was a completely different vibe than his with Xavier. with Nate, Leo was a teacher and felt such responsibilty with him. with Xavier, Leo was himself; the good and the bad fully. Xavier was the only one who knew everything. hell, xavier added fuel to Leo’s fire. “Sex is so good.” He agreed quietly with his body slack on the couch and his hand and a halful glass resting on his thigh. “Dream role?” He repeated and then proceeded to murmur himself as he thought about it. “Any male lead.” He answered but he felt it was too general. “Roger from RENT.” His heart answered. “That would be fucking sick.” His enthused, still just a simple theater kid underneath the full beard. 

mood: joe goldberg

Do you have a hobby?

self destruction 

PENN BADGLEY in The Paper Store (2016)

MR. & MRS. SMITH — 2005, dir. Doug Liman