#I love Nick's voice actor HE SOUNDS LIKE A VERY NICE YOUNG DAD like the way he talked to cody in the steel samauri episode

[lala-blahblah]

THE ACE ATTORNEY ANIME IS SOOOOO UNSERIOUS they include a whole extra flashback episode when Miles Phoenix and Larry are kids (it's so cute) and it ends and Nick is like "haha yep! What a great time we had! And now we finally solved the mystery of Miles's dad so nothing stands in the way of our friendship!" and then you get a jumpcut to Edgeworth saying "It seems like this is goodbye once again" and leaving behind his "miles edgeworth chooses death" letter as he walks out into the night LIKE BRO???!!!!

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Get To Know You Better Part 31

Summary: Gabrielle has a nine-year-old son who is a huge Captain America fan. He notices one of the actors on the subway and loudly points it out to her. That’s when Gabrielle realizes that actor was the man she had a one-night-stand with the week before.

Chapter Summary: Gabrielle learns good news about James but struggles with Stela’s behavior. 

Warnings: Arguments

           “Mom?”

           “Hey baby, can you hear me?” I walked out of the laundry room, a basket resting on my hip.

           “Yeah, I can hear you.”

           “How are you?” I felt my heart ache like usual when I heard my son’s voice. James graduated high school with honors. He was accepted to his dream college and graduated with a degree in marketing. He became an up and comer for marketing in TV studios. He lost touch with Gabriel when they broke up in their senior year of high school. But they rekindled the relationship when they realized they were going to the same graduate school. Now they were living together in Chicago, which seemed millions of miles away from me.

           I held the phone between my ear and shoulder as I folded laundry.

           “You’re sister’s acting up again.” I sighed as I hung up some of Sebastian’s dress shirts.

           “Well, I’ll talk to her, but she’s a teenager, mom, she’s supposed to act up.”

           “Mhm…it’s not easy when your dad is traveling.”

           “Yeah, we talked yesterday,” James replied. “I’m surprised he didn’t tell you the news yet.”

           “What news?” I paused by the bed.

           “Gabriel proposed.”

           I gasped and lifted a hand to my mouth. “Oh my goodness, no he didn’t!”

           “Yep, he did. It was really sweet too, just perfect.”

           “Oh, Jamie.” I felt tears in my eyes as I clutched the phone. “I’m so happy for you. You two must be so excited.”

           “We’re definitely looking forward to it.” James’s voice was full of joy. “I told dad yesterday and he promised not to tell you but I kind of expected he would because he’s so bad at secrets.”

           “No, he didn’t say anything. Oh, we’ll have to fly out to celebrate.” I said. “Maybe we’ll throw a party, you can invite all your friends and I’ll see if your grandparents will come out.”

           James laughed. “Okay, okay. You don’t have to get carried away. We can have a small get together.” He bargained.

           I sat down on the edge of the bed and touched right over my heart, “James, I’m so proud of you. You’ve found real happiness and that’s all I ever wanted for you.”

           “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you, mom. You and Sebastian let me be myself.”

           “But you were so brave, much braver than us.” I bit my lip. “I’m just so happy.” My voice broke.

           He sighed softly. “Mom, you don’t have to cry. It’s okay.”

           “I know, I know.” I laughed weakly and dabbed at my eyes. “Anything you want for your wedding you can have,” I promised. “Your dad and I won’t spare any expenses.”

           James chuckled. “I kind of figured but it’s okay. We don’t want a big blowout. We just want friends and family to be there in a small ceremony.”

           “Okay, whatever you want we’ll make it happen.”

           “Our friend already wants to be a surrogate for us.” He laughed. “I think she’s getting a little ahead of herself but it’s nice to think about. Gabe and I are just too busy right now.”

           “You’ll know when the time is right.” I didn’t want to say I wanted grandchildren right after the wedding even though I did. I didn’t want to rush them.

           “So, I had something else to tell you.” His voice changed dramatically. It sounded smaller and hesitant.

           “Okay…”

           “My father reached out…I mean my biological dad, Nick.”

           “Oh.” It was out of nowhere. I hadn’t heard from Nick for years. James didn’t show any interest in meeting him even after he turned eighteen. I knew from the grapevine that Nick and Jessie had three kids together, James’s half-siblings.

           “Sorry, I didn’t want to upset you.”

           “No, I’m not upset.” And I wasn’t lying to him. There was no reason to be upset. Neither of them had reached out to me since the last public debacle after the custody case was finished. It seemed they knew when they were beaten. They hadn’t interfered with my life and vice versa. I was happy with my own husband and my own children. And it sounded like they were happy with their family. It had been too long to hold any grudges.

           “We talked for a long time. I don’t know if he’s changed that much but he sounded sorry about what he did. He said he was upset that he hadn’t been in my life but he didn’t blame you, which is what I was sort of expecting.”

           “Well, …that’s different.” I agreed. The Nick I knew would blame everything on me until he was hoarse.

           “Yeah, I thought so too. I offered to meet him. He wanted me to meet my half-siblings too.”

           “I think that’s a good idea,” I reassured.

           “I’m scared.” He admitted.

           “I can imagine. But you need to build ground rules for him so you feel comfortable. This needs to be on your terms, not his.”

           “That’s what Gabe was saying. We kind of worked on what I wanted to say. I wrote some stuff down.”

           “That’s good. It’ll be easy to get your thoughts together beforehand.”

           James was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment. He took a deep breath. “I kind of feel like a kid again, before dad came into our lives. I wanted to meet Nick but I didn’t at the same time. Now I’m going back to that and it’s sort of pathetic.”

           “It’s not pathetic,” I said gently. “James, it’s okay to feel scared. Do you think you would want Gabe to come with you? I’m sure he would and maybe that would help you feel safer.”

           “We talked about that. We’ve talked about it a lot. I guess it’s just a matter of time before I decide.”

           “Well, your dad and I are here to support you.”

           “I know…I know.” He sounded deep in thought.

           I wasn’t sure what I could say to reassure him. When he was a child, I could protect him and I made the decisions when it came to Nick. But he was an adult, almost twenty-five-years old. He needed to make his own choices and I couldn’t protect him as I wanted. But I felt assured knowing he had Gabriel to comfort him like I had Sebastian to comfort me.

===============

           Sebastian came home a few days later. Stela wasn’t grounded anymore from her last slip up so we let her go to a friend’s house for the night.

           But Sebastian was on edge. He felt like he was losing control over her. And it wasn’t because he felt the need to be domineering over her it was because he felt helpless when it came to protecting her. Of course, we didn’t love her any less when she screamed at us and told us she hated us and wished we were dead. She could yell at us all day as long as she was home. When she went out, that’s what scared us the most. The more I heard about violated and even murdered young girls, the more I feared for Stela’s safety. But it was hard to keep her in our grasp even as we set ground rules. She snuck out if she didn’t get her way and we’d had to report her missing over four times.

           The last thing I wanted was to call the police on her and get her in trouble. But knowing she was safe in their custody was better than not knowing where she was.

           It didn’t help that Sebastian wasn’t handling it very well. He traveled less than he used to but he still didn’t deal with her on a daily basis as I did. When she got in trouble, he yelled at her and laid down the most severe punishment he possibly could. I knew that if he had the choice, he would walk her to and from school, check in with her every hour, and lock her in her room for the rest of the day. But I knew that would only make her rebel more.

=============

           As the time neared Stela’s curfew, Sebastian paced by the foot of the bed. I sat up, trying to read but it was hard to concentrate. I was just as worried as he was.

           “She promised.”

           “I know.” I sighed and stuck my bookmark in between the pages. “Maybe she just lost track of time.”

           “Sure, just like every other time.” He said through gritted teeth. “Gabrielle, I can’t take this anymore.”

           “I know.” I bit my lip.

           The teenager had made him age at a much faster rate. I could stand seeing him so tired and stressed. It made me feel like I had no control over my own family anymore. I didn’t want to blame Stela but I wanted to blame someone. I usually focused on her friends. They were bad news, always getting her into trouble, and introducing her to dangerous things.

           “Maybe it’s time to pull her out of that school,” I suggested.

           “She’ll still see them.” He shook his head.

           “Maybe she needs to go to Chicago for a little bit, live with Gabriel and James.”

           “Yeah, so we can pass off the little hellion to them? I’m sure they’ll be grateful for that.”

           I felt anxious at the idea of sending her away. But we couldn’t uproot our lives either. “Maybe…maybe she needs to go to boarding school then.”

           The pain in Sebastian’s eyes was evident. The idea of sending away his baby girl was unbearable. “She’ll hate me.”

           “Maybe she will at first but she’ll never stop loving you, Sebs, you know that.” I murmured and held out a hand to him.

           He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned into me, resting his cheek on my shoulder.

           I ran my fingers through his hair to soothe him. “Maybe one day she’ll thank us. The way she’s going…if she keeps at it we won’t be able to save her down the line. It’ll only get worse so we need to stop it now.”

           He closed his eyes. “I don’t want to lose her.”

           “If we don’t intervene then we will lose her.”

================

           Stela snuck into the apartment three hours after her curfew. Sebastian was waiting for her.

           I sat at the kitchen table, too tired to take the lead.

           “You’re late.” Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest.

           “Whatever.” Stela rolled her eyes and started to head down the hall to her room.

           “Ah, ah, ah, we need to talk.” Sebastian blocked her path.

           “About what?” She already looked ready to explode.

           I stood up just waiting for the lit match to hit the gasoline.

           “We’re pulling you out of school and sending you out of state.” Sebastian tried to stay firm in his voice.  

           Stela stared at him. “No.” Her voice rose a little.

           “You can say no all you want but you have no choice in this,” I spoke up. “Your father and I are tired of your behavior. You need more structure and you need to get away from the city for a while.”

           Stela looked like a trapped animal. “I’m leaving then.” She pushed past Sebastian.

           “And where do you think you’re going to go?” He followed her.

           “I don’t care! I’m not staying here!”

           “You’re a minor, the police will just keep bringing you back. Or they’ll send you to juvie. Instead, your mother and I are offering you a better chance at a nice school.”

           “Go to hell.” Stela spat at him.

           “I can choose where I go because I’m an adult, but you’re going to boarding school. I won’t sit around and watch you mess up your chances at success.”

           “You can’t do this! You can’t tell me what to do!” Stela started to shriek.

           “I’m your father, I can tell you anything.” Sebastian stuck a foot in the door before she could slam it on him. “Phone, laptop, now. I paid for them, they’re mine. Your so-called-friends aren’t coming near this apartment so don’t even try to contact them.”

           “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” Stela screamed and tried to push her entire weight against the door to shut him out.

           “That’s so sad to hear because I love you so much. I love you enough not to let you throw your life away!” Sebastian yelled back at her. “You’re a beautiful young girl who has so much potential. I’m not letting you become some homeless drug addict!”

           “I can do whatever I want!”

           “No, you can’t! Now give me your phone right now!”

           Stela threw her phone at the hallway wall, shattering the screen. “There! I don’t want your money! You don’t fucking care about me anyways!” She finally managed to push him out and slammed the door.

           “If you sneak out, I’m calling the police and I’m telling them to lock you up! I won’t pick you up again!” Sebastian shouted. “You want to live like this? You better get used to jail because you’ll either end up there or dead!” He turned and went into the bedroom.

           Rattled by the argument, I followed him. “Sebs…” I whispered.

           He sat on the bed, crumpling in on himself. His shoulders heaved as he cried.

           I sat next to him and held him close, letting him lean on me.

           “I don’t know what happened.” His voice cracked. “I never saw her turning out like this. I don’t want to bury her, Gabby, I can’t.”

           “We’re not.” I soothed but my body was trembling. “We’re going to get her help. We’ll do everything we can. I promise.”

Note: I think the next chapter will be the epilogue 

Permanent Tag: @what-the-buckybarnes

Tag list: @jazzwoman897 @gurveersidhuu @kimmiestrawberrykiwi @take-my-life-not-my-heart @kimberlydyan @darkrose97 @spideyhoecoming @jennabenna12 @musicalburrage

Masterpost

My Masterlist

[pinupgalore-lanadelrey]

Lana, Gaga & Bob Leone

Lower East Side music scene before the fame:

I was friends with a music industry guy named Bob. He’d been the keyboard player of a band that toured with Aerosmith—or someone like Aerosmith—in the ‘70s and then I’m pretty sure he’d played with Stevie Nicks during the solo cocaine years in L.A. He had signature glasses and five ex-wives. He surrounded himself with girl singer-songwriters—I was one, and so were a whole host of girls who never got famous either, but Lizzy was one as well along with Stefani Germanotta, though she’d started calling herself Lady Gaga by that point. I think. I didn’t write anything down because I had no idea it’d be worth remembering.

Bob hosted shows at a Manhattan venue started by a famous actor to meet chicks. It worked—the actor married one of the bartenders—and the place has since been shut down and remade it something more family-friendly.

To be fair, it was never that edgy or sexy or weird. Sometimes on Tumblr, I see kids talking about the early days of Gaga as if it was the bad old days of New York, as if we were crawling through the Lower East Side with needles sticking out our elbows, turning tricks for guitar strings. Please. Everyone wore Uggs.

Anyway, I watched Stefani writhe around the stage. She was going to be famous. Even I knew that and I have the worst music industry instincts of anyone I’ve ever met. When Stefani said she was going to write more dance music, I tut-tutted because we were going into a recession and people don’t like dance music in recessions. I’d seen a few Behind the Musicson grunge. In an alternative universe, “Just Dance” didn’t happen because some idiot listened to me. But in this universe, Stefani was clearly going to be huge. A&R reps were crowded along the edges of the room, leaning forward and sweating in their button-downs and artfully distressed jeans, ready to sign checks.

I was included on a group email from Molly asking if anyone had any interview ideas. I read her email and thought to see if maybe she’d be interested in an interview with my friend Lizzy who had a record coming out.  Molly asked if we could also film a video. Video was going to be the next big thing. Lizzy had lived in a trailer park while working on her record, so maybe we could film there? White trash was also going to be the next big thing.

I asked Lizzy if she’d be up for a video. “Of course,” she said. Because she had always been, fundamentally, a nice person. “How about 9 a.m. on Sunday?” she suggested, because she was also fundamentally a strange person. Going to the frozen hellscape that is New Jersey at 9 a.m. on a winter Sunday sounded reasonable to her. Out of all of Bob’s girls, Lizzy was my favorite. We went to the same college—different campuses but still, the same school. We both liked Coney Island and old New York. She had a particular way of articulating her consonants that made her words feel very purposeful, which I liked. And she was talented. I had everyone’s demos but Lizzy’s was the only one I actually played.  (x)

Bob Leone was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he currently lives. In the late '70s & early '80s, he played in the rock band Flame. Flame was formed by the legendary Jimmy Iovine, a childhood friend of Bob's. In 1990, Iovine formed Interscope Records. James "Jimmy" Iovine is an American record and film producer. He is best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records (where Lana is signed) and chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M.

At the time, Leone held showcases at a Manhattan venue, inviting acts from across the US to perform in front of top record company bosses. He put his young starlet Stefani on the bill in front of record executive Wendy Starland.

Impressed, Starland was keen to pair Stefani with Rob Fusari, who went on to co-produce Gaga’s debut album The Fame. The pair recorded a demo and Stefani signed a record deal just months later in September 2006. It was at this point that Leone stopped playing an active role in  her career.

But he claims promises made just before this major breakthrough, in the six months when he was officially working as Gaga’s manager, were never kept, mainly due to the involvement of her father, Joe. Leone said: ‘She [Gaga] said to  her dad he could be her business manager, but she wanted me as her manager as she wanted to sign with a major label. I was happy to then stand aside, glad I could help, but Joe never forgave me for being her manager. He despised me for accepting the offer to manage her. When I asked for a contract, he constantly came up with excuses why not, which went on for a couple of months, but he said, “I give you my word, you’ve been into my house, when you get her the major record deal, you will be fairly compensated. That never happened... I was just tossed aside. I love Stefani, I miss Stefani. I grieved for her when she became Lady Gaga. She literally transformed into a different human being. I grieved for years.’

Leone’s row with Gaga’s father reignited in 2010 when, struggling for cash, he decided to auction off a collection of unreleased CDs and recordings that the pair had made when she was a teenager. Within hours her legal team had quashed the release and threatened Leone. ‘Some of this music dated back to when she was 15. I thought it was maybe worth a lot. But as soon as it was made public, their lawyer called me. He called me four times with ridiculous threats about copyright infringement and violating propriety rights of her name. It was David versus Goliath and I accepted a settlement of $10,000 dollars. $1,000 of that went to my lawyer, $3,000 to the auction house, so I was left with $6,000.’

Now broke, Leone reveals he may one day be forced to sell the only letter he has from Gaga in a bid to raise more cash after leaving his Manhattan home. ‘I lived there for 31 years, but it got to point where I couldn’t afford it, my savings had disappeared  and I had no choice but to move back to be with my mother. I live on a  disability cheque and that’s it. I found Gaga but I haven’t got a penny from her.’ Despite his predicament and his grievances with Lady Gaga, Leone holds no grudges against Lana Del Rey, despite not receiving any financial reward for her success. He says this is because he was only Del Rey’s mentor and never acted as her manager.

Following a much-publicized auction in 2010, Bob's early involvement with GaGa became known worldwide. As a direct result, he was deemed "The Most Famous Manager in the World." When GaGa's fans heard about his connection to their idol, Bob was deluged with requests from hundreds of young artists worlwide who wanted him to be their manager.

2 Years after that interview Bob said:

“I was quoted out of context and I was also misquoted. Just before this article was published in the Daily Mail, (x) the man who interviewed me for it, Chris White, called to apologize. He was so unhappy with how my words were twisted that he removed his name as the author of the article. The person listed as the writer — Simon Boyle — never interviewed me and never contacted me to verify any of the information. The only concern of the Daily Mail, as with many such newspapers, was to sell as many copies of their publication as possible. And the best way to do that is by creating sensational headlines that have very little in common with the truth.” 

“My relationship with GaGa was always a very good one. She respected me and admired me, just as I respected and admired her. If she didn't feel that way about me, she would never have asked me to be her manager. And there's something not too many people are aware of and that is that while I was GaGa's manager in 2006, she signed her first major production deal (with Rob Fusari) and her first major label deal (with L.A. Reid, who was then the head of Island Records). GaGa and her entire family expressed gratitude to me for my role in transforming Stefani Germanotta, who was performing without pay at local clubs, into Lady GaGa, a major label superstar.”

“Lana Del Rey approached me at the legendary music club, The Bitter End, while I was there watching a show with a friend. At the end of the performance, many people came over to speak with me. This happened all the time because my artist showcases were considered the best in the country and every artist wanted to know how they could be chosen to be in one of them. Lana walked over from across the room and stood next to me. She waited very patiently while I was speaking to another artist. When that conversation ended, I turned to her. She introduced herself as Lizzy Grant. She had no idea who I was at the time. She told me later that she was compelled to have a conversation with me and that's why she came over. We had a very strong connection from the very beginning. A few days later, I invited her to come to a show with me. Afterwards, she asked if I would listen to her sing some of her songs. She was extremely nervous. As every performer knows, it's harder to sing for one person than it is to sing for thousands, especially if you believe the person you're singing to has the power to change your life. After I helped her to calm down, she began to sing. To me, it was like listening to an Angel. Her sweet voice, her beautiful face, her vulnerability, her lyrics — these things were simply amazing to me. I had worked with thousands of artists, but I had never seen or heard anyone like her. I knew that, even though she was a raw talent, not as developed as Stefani, she had the potential to be a superstar. Lizzy and I spent a lot of time together after that night. I was the first person to hear "Yayo," which is still one of my favorite songs. Some of my happiest memories are of those times. Lizzy is one of the most intelligent, most perceptive, most interesting and kindest people I have ever met.” 

“What Lana and Gaga have in common are three things: I discovered both of them, although I want to make it clear that I was never Lana’s manager. Also, both of them took songwriting workshops at SHOF and both were featured in one of my SHOF showcases. I also featured Lana and Gaga in two showcases I produced after I left SHOF. But Lana and Gaga were not in the same workshop and they were not in the same showcases.”

Some time ago one of Lana’s songs called “So Legit” was leaked, in which she talks about a girl named Stefani and some past in Williamsburg. Is that the Stefani we’re thinking?

“Yes, I have been asked this question many times. Those of us who know Lana, either in real life, like me, or as fans of her songs, know that she would never write something like that about Gaga or anyone. That whole controversy blew up to ridiculous proportions. For example, some people blamed me for Lana having bad feelings about Gaga. They said she was upset because I managed Gaga and not her. And a few days ago, under a YouTube video of Gaga thanking me at the SHOF award ceremony, someone wrote a comment saying that it was so wonderful of her to express her gratitude to me because, according to that person. I wrote “So Legit.” All I could do was laugh at something so ridiculously untrue. Like Lana, I would never write anything so cruel, especially about someone like Gaga about whom I have very positive feelings.” - Bob Leone

“No, I cannot honestly say I had anything to do with Stefani Germanotta becoming Lady GaGa or Lizzy Grant becoming Lana Del Rey. They chose these personas themselves based on who they truly are inside and that is why they are both authentic artists.”

“I saw Lana perform in Berlin last year but we did not have a chance to speak because she flew to her next show immediately after she performed. But I wished her a Happy Birthday this year and she congratulated me on getting married.”