#did this start out as a setup for a sad reflection on Bruce's relationship with pearls? yes

[graylinesspam]

Attending galas was one of the bigger perks of joining the Wayne family in Selina's opinion. The children were never so enthused as she was, but that mattered little to her. Selina was a woman who loved to be seen.

Even and especially if that meant being draped over the arm of a handsome man. She had always believed that the natural counterpart to stealing was flaunting. Why have what others cannot envy?

So as the boys tugged their ties and bemoaned their state of dress Selina was primping. Smoothing her hands down the length of her white satin bodice. The gala tonight was sea themed so she'd had Bruce commission something special for her. It was a faithful recreation of Christian Dior's 1949 dress Junon. The large scalloped skirt details that would have looked very tacky in any other style shined just the way that Dior had designed them to with over three thousand hand sown sequins. Over every white petal curve blue and white sparkles caught the light like drops of water.

She'd had her hair jelled into finger waves; little black curls left plastered to her forehead. She was only waiting for Bruce to deliver her jewelry.

"Any idea what he's picked out?" Selina asked Dick as he leaned against the wall beside her mirror.

"something extravagant I'm sure" he sighed

Selina and Bruce had a game they played, where he picked out her jewelry and she always complained that it was too plain. Selina was the kind of woman that would always be dripping in diamonds if she could. And Bruce while rich had old fashioned tastes.

"well I hope that he'll do better than a string of pearls, I can't let every old biddy in the building out do me in that respect."

Dick cast an uncomfortable look to Barbara, his date, who Selina could see through the mirror was pulling long white opera gloves on.

"The Waynes don't wear pearls." Barbara corrected while she ran a hand over the chain of sapphires that sat snug round her neck.

Selina paused as she was putting away her lipgloss. "oh, I see. Well, all the better. everyone else will be wearing pearls, and when I won't be, it'll be easier to show them up."

Bruce appeared then at the top of the stairs in his dark blue suit A White satin box in hand. Everyone stood back as he descended the stairs and held the long rectangular box out before him.

He lifted the lid and revealed the necklace. It was sizable. Three long rows of rectangular cut diamonds encased in silver made up a two finger wide chain that plummeted low and embraced a massive blue diamond, like to hands cradling it gently with softly curling fingers.

The entire setting was breathtaking but not so much as the center diamond that was almost as large as Selina's palm. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of such an impressive stone.

When Bruce secured the heavy thing around her neck she couldn't believe how well it all went together. The light muted color of the diamond made it somehow less overpowering to the outfit than a sapphire of similar size would have been. But it shined with the dress as did her gelled hair and shiny lips. It was utterly perfect.

"No earrings to go with it?" She teased instead of admitting defeat.

"what earrings could possibly compare?" Bruce replied.

outfit under the cut

listen are these wildly out of the box items to style together? yes, but Selina is a go big or go home kinda gal and I think this fits her literally to a T.

[strawberrysoup]

Let’s Review || Chapter 12

Peter Parker knew that his big sister would do anything for him to be safe and happy. She’d given up everything for him twice over already and would do it again in a heartbeat. And that’s why, when the criminal mastermind Tony Stark started inextricably following him around, he didn’t say a word. Because he knew without a doubt Penny would do whatever she had to if it meant keeping Peter safe. He had to protect her, just like she always protected him. He never considered what would happen if Stark decided both Parker siblings were worth taking. Never considered who else in Stark’s inner circle would agree. He just wanted to protect her and yet somehow, they both ended up with needles in their necks.

relationship: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character/Bucky Barnes, background Peter Parker/Tony Stark rating: Explicit/18+ warnings: Dark Steve Rogers, Dark Bucky Barnes, Dark Tony Stark, Dark Avengers, kidnapping, non-con/dub-con elements, underage Peter Parker, emotional and psychological abuse, very dark 

Peter had been waiting at the door to the lab when Penny and Tony got off the elevator, bouncing in place just beyond the threshold. Penny assumed he'd been told not to leave the room because even as they walked closer and he got more energized, he only toed the edge without going over. As soon as his sister was in reach, he snatched her up into his arms and squeezed the breath out of her. 

“She’s fine, baby, don’t make her eyes pop out,” the tone of affection in Tony’s voice was heavy and Peter felt himself preen slightly; it was nice when Tony sounded like that. 

“JARVIS just said you weren’t okay and that Tony needed to go get you right away,” he said quietly against the side of Penny’s head, “I didn’t know what happened.” 

Tony stepped up close to the pair, one hand going to the small of Peter’s back and the other curling into Penny’s hair. The two were precious, especially together. Honestly, Tony didn’t like having them separated the way they were. They couldn’t conspire, which was useful in making sure they stayed where he wanted them, but God they were so sad. Peter asked a million times a day to see Penny and according to JARVIS she did the same, settling for updates on his status every once in a while to calm her. 

If it hadn’t been for Steve and Bucky, he would’ve taken them to his cabin upstate. The isolation would’ve been so good for them. Peter would’ve loved the lab setups and Penny could’ve had a garden outside in the fresh air, they would’ve been together and with JARVIS monitoring closely they could’ve negated any escape attempts even if it was just Tony out there physically. In the back of his mind, he wondered how long he would attempt to let the soldiers care for her before taking over. 

“It’s all taken care of,” he stated quietly, rubbing Peter’s back gently, “now I’ve got some work to do, baby why don’t you show Penny what you’ve been working on?” 

He watched the pair walk away to a work table before heading to his own, determined to get started on a blood testing device that wouldn’t use needles. Or, at least wouldn’t use any visible needles that Penny would be able to identify or feel. He knew Bruce wouldn't let her off without one and if he could circumvent the fit she was going to throw it would be great.

When JARVIS had announced that Penny was in extreme distress, a level of irritation had risen in his chest that he didn’t really expect. Peter was his primary concern in every aspect, but Penny was a very close second. He’d literally just had a conversation with the soldiers about figuring their shit out but within the next two hours he’d been alerted she was losing it once again. It was testing his patience, but he reminded himself there wasn't a presidence to their relationship like there was between him and Peter. 

In the beginning it had been easy; Peter craved adult approval. All Tony had to do was compliment his intelligence and the teenager was on a high. They'd talked about science, Tony told him how smart he was, how impressed he was. Graduating to careful touches had been simple, new compliments on his appearance and his growth over time slid under the radar. 

About four months in, he could tell Peter was antsy. The text messages he sent got shorter, less enthusiastic. He made excuses to not meet up for coffee and joined a new club at school that kept him tied up on weekends, tried to reject gifts and invitations. Something had spooked his boy, now he wondered if it had something to do with Penny. The reticence had gotten worse and worse until he'd followed him home from decathlon practice and she'd seen them. 

He still hadn't pressed, hadn't asked what caused Peter to pull away. If it was his own conscious or if someone had influenced him. In the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter but he was curious. They had a relationship before the kidnapping, a basis to build upon. Penny and the soldiers didn't have that, everything between them had to be built from scratch and the guys had to demolish some massive barriers before the building could even begin. 

He kept an eye on the pair through the many reflective surfaces in the room, smiling softly to himself while he worked; they were adorable. Penny was smart, but had no idea what she was doing in a lab setting. She kept touching things, moving them and then waiting for Peter to react. He played into her hands, whining every time he noticed something was out of place, freaking out when she picked up a blowtorch. They also seemed to have some weird dissociation with their bodies, but only in relation to each other: Peter acted like he was smaller than she was, where she seemed to forget he'd outgrown her. He would shift and settle his weight against her, only for the pair to almost go tumbling; she would reach out to muss his hair, but couldn't reach the top of his head anymore without getting on her tip toes. 

It was easy to get lost in his work; despite his reputation as a weapons designer, he was a fair touch at medical equipment. He only got distracted by the sound of a soft snore and his heart melted when he glanced into the reflective wall to see Penny curled up on a stool. She'd fallen asleep somehow perched with both feet on the seat, tucked into a ball and leaning precariously against the wall, head on her knees. Peter was obviously keeping a close eye on her, turned to face her at his work table while he messed with the parts Tony had given him for a robot. 

"J, order a daybed for the lab," he quietly addressed the AI, watching Peter very carefully set a screwdriver on his sister's shoulder, adding to a collection of tools he was balancing on her sleeping form.

"Perhaps an oversized bean bag chair, sir? Ms. Parker has them saved on her pinterest under the board 'if I was rich'."

Peter's head snapped up when he heard JARVIS speak, nervously glancing at his still sleeping sister. When he decided she was peacefully asleep and not about to sit up and kill him for the calculations he’d scribbled onto her arm, he turned to look at Tony in confusion. 

"Come here baby," Tony kept his tone quiet, motioning him over, "I want you to look at something." 

Peter went without hesitation, reminding Tony once again how lucky he was that the younger Parker sibling was so different than his sister. He tried so hard not to question Tony's orders, to just obey. Penny would’ve tried to stab him with a fork. 

"What is it?"

Tony flung several holograms up, all with different schematics, “I’m trying to design a new method of drawing blood, one without visible needles. Bruce won’t let her get out of a blood test and I don’t want it to send her into hysterics again. Now, this one is what I’m leaning towards— its got needles, but they’re so small she won’t be able to see them. Shouldn’t even be that uncomfortable, like suction.” 

“Uh,” Peter tilted his head to the side, trying to catch up with Tony’s thought process and also examine the schematics, “what about this one?” 

He listened intently as the older man explained all of the ideas he’d come up with, one of which required technology that didn’t currently exist but Tony promised he would invent it within a few days if Peter thought it was the best option. The whole time the teenager tried to pretend his affection for the man wasn’t steadily growing. He was so conflicted— Tony Stark had groomed him like a pedophile to be receptive to his advances over time, had kidnapped and ‘punished’ him, took his sister and gave her to his friends. But Tony also provided him with nearly anything he asked for, showered him with affection and always told him how much he loved him, how much he wanted Peter to be happy. And it was hard to remember the bad stuff because Peter wanted that affection so much. 

He wasn’t starved for affection really, Penny hugged him whenever she could, smacked more kisses to his forehead a day than exchanged words with him. She worked so much that she wasn’t always around the apartment when he was, but she texted him as much as she could. Peter never had to wonder how much his sister loved him; there was no question that he was the most important person in her world. 

But it was different coming from Tony. The affection, the touches, the words, they made Peter burn up with happiness. Yes, Tony had spanked him until it hurt to sit for several days but he also held him all the time, kept him cuddled close. He stole him away from his friends but he was providing him with a home, the highest tech laboratories in the world— literally anything Peter wanted could be provided, as frivolously as possible in most cases. Tony kidnapped his sister, yeah, but he also adored Penny almost as much as Peter did; he’d stated multiple times that he just wanted Peter and Penny to be happy. 

It was messed up and backwards but Peter wanted everything Tony had to offer. The wrongness of it flipped his stomach every time he thought about leaning into the man’s touch, when Tony kissed him and he forced himself to turn his head even though he really, really wanted that kiss. Penny would be devastated, she’d think that she failed him somehow. 

“I’m not sure, either the first one you mentioned or the third, probably,” Peter crossed his arms over his chest, forcing himself to put a barrier between them, “the second doesn’t really sound plausible and the fourth has too big of a needle, she’d notice.” 

“Anything is plausible when you’re me, baby,” Tony smirked slightly, but gave a shrug nonetheless and turned his attention to where Penny was still asleep against the wall, "how does she sleep like that?"

"Penny can sleep anywhere," Peter shrugged and took a stylus off the table, walking back to his sister to balance it on top of her head, "she doesn't move at all. I'm not sure if it's really, like, restful because she stays so tensed up? But I've seen her sleep balanced on the arm of a couch before without a wall holding her up. It's kind of cool." 

"Multiple bean bag chairs, J," Tony couldn't decide if he was impressed or kind of sad that Penny was really good at making herself sleep in uncomfortable situations, but he could absolutely make sure she didn't need to ever again, "labs, living rooms—" 

"You're buying Penny bean bag chairs for the lab?" Peter butted in, and Tony Did Not Roll His Eyes at his interruption but he did give the teenager a quick, painless pop on the cheek.

“Manners, baby,” his tone was stern, but he raised an eyebrow when Peter hardly reacted to him, the boy’s head instead turned to stare at the still sleeping Penny. 

“You shouldn’t do that where Penny could see,” the teenager responded in a hushed tone, stepping forward just a bit, “she’ll get super pissed.” 

To be fair, the thought hadn't really occurred to Tony before. Discipline was important considering the nature of their relationship, just as it was between the soldiers and Penny, and doling out punishment wasn't something he'd ever even thought he would consider hiding. But considering how fraught her relationship was with literally every inhabitant of the tower, he couldn't help but wonder how far would be too far to push Penny. She was a powder keg begging for fire, any excuse to explode. 

Tony knew for a fact that there was a line drawn in the sand, the one that stood between actual life and death, between Penny and everyone else; he just didn't know exactly where it was. Would seeing a quick pop to Peter's cheek be the straw that broke the camel's back? Or would it be the evidence of a spanking in the way he sat? And what would the explosion look like? She'd already proven to be unpredictable and prone to pretty significant violence, including using improvised weapons to cause (what she'd hoped was) lasting damage. 

Even worse, he realized he didn't know where his line was. How far would he let Penny go in her attempts to escape and take Peter with her? When would he draw the line, cite a failure to thrive and put her out of her misery? It could come to that; he didn't want to imagine it, that Penny could loathe them all so much she'd never stop trying steal Peter away. 

There was no good way to show Penny how much better it was for her and Peter in the tower without the passage of time. Until she began to notice changes. When it settled in that all of Peter's clothes were new and perfectly fitted. When she noticed her brother looked so much healthier, well fed and vibrant. When the stress of living stopped pressing on her shoulders, when she began to gain weight and stop pulling at her own hair, biting her nails. 

There was so much that could go wrong where Penny was concerned but there was also so much that could go right. She could finally thrive, be her own person, live for herself and her own happiness. 

A rush swam through Tony’s veins and he stood, kissing Peter’s cheek gently where he’d just smacked him before walking over to where Penny was curled on the stool and removed all of the odds and ends Peter had managed to balance on her. She was in such a tight ball that picking her up was easy; there were no flailing limbs to corral or sudden shifts in weight distribution to compensate for. Tony understood what Peter meant— the sleep she got couldn’t be very restful when her muscles were tight like iron bands. 

“Let’s take Penny upstairs so she can sleep,” he directed the quiet comment to the teenager who had followed him across the lab and was standing at his elbow, “J, is anyone in the living room?” 

He was conflicted on whether or not he wanted Penny on the floor he shared with Peter beyond the kitchen. There was too much for her to get upset over; the obvious lack of a separate room for her brother, the cushion on the floor next to the couch for when he wanted Peter to kneel for him, Penny would probably go insane and the poor thing didn’t need the added stress. Peter was his baby boy, his to do with as he pleased, but he loved the boy too and Penny wouldn’t be able to fathom it. All she would see was mistreatment and pedophilia and imprisonment. 

“The living room is currently empty sir, most of the tower’s occupants are currently out.”

“Take us up, then,” Penny weighed much less in his arms than he really cared for, it was almost too easy to carry her to the elevator and hold her the entire trip. 

Even when he put her on the couch, she didn’t release the tension from her muscles. She remained in the same tight curl where her body had been so precariously balancing. Tony started to comment, but Peter had slipped around him already and began tugging at Penny’s arms and legs until she was stretched out across the length of the couch. 

“Sometimes she does this at home,” Peter stated quietly, “the only thing that’ll really make her wake up is a loud noise, so I can usually get her shifted so she’s more comfortable without bothering her.” 

“Did you have to do this often?” Tony responded in the same tone, sitting on the couch near Penny’s feet and motioning for Peter to come to him once he’d finished rearranging his sister. 

“No, not really,” the teenager allowed himself to be pulled into Tony’s lap, tangling his feet with his sisters, “Penny tried to always be awake if we were gonna be home at the same time. It was usually only if I woke up in the middle of the night, after she got home from her overnight shift. I think she was too stressed out when she got back and couldn’t relax enough, so she’d just fall asleep however she was sitting.” 

A slight shudder ran through him as he remembered the few nights that he’d woken up and gotten up to get a snack or something to drink, only to find Penny sleeping like a statue on the edge of the couch. She’d fall asleep hunched over, elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. The first time he thought she was crying and his heart had broken, but it actually felt worse when he realized she was so exhausted she’d fallen asleep like that. She was working herself so hard to provide for him that she could fall asleep like that. 

Tony tugged Peter’s head against his chest, running a hand through his hair gently. It was amazing how much he’d hated Penny just days ago. Penelope fucking Parker. Once upon a time he thought she was a cruel, neglectful monster. The power of ignorance was astounding. 

“It’s gonna be so much better now, baby boy,” he murmured quietly into Peter’s ear, lips brushing his temple gently, “I promise, for you and Penny both. No more stress or worrying—”

Peter’s mouth opened, as if to interrupt, but he snapped it shut with an audible click of his teeth. Tony couldn’t help but grin to himself; he really did hit the jackpot with his obedient boy. 

“Yes Peter?” 

The prompt made the teenager melt against Tony’s chest slightly and he turned his face to press against the oil stained shirt, “Penny likes cats. They’re supposed to be good for stress, right? Like, an emotional support cat?” 

“Cats huh?” 

“And weed,” Peter continued, still not looking up at the man holding him, “when she could spare the cash and I didn’t need anything, she would buy a little bit. You could get her weed, right?” 

Peter said you could get her weed right like Tony was the most powerful person in New York (which he was) and Tony preened, “cats and weed, the soldiers will love it.” 

The way Peter tensed against him was sudden and almost shocking in the way it mimicked Penny gearing up for a fight. Tony imagined he could smell his boy’s outrage, the discontent welling up inside of him and pouring from his pores. It was the first time Peter had given any indication he possessed the same amount of rage as his sister and Tony had to hide his shock. 

“Why does she have to be with them?” The words were ground through Peter’s teeth, his forehead pressing more firmly to Tony’s chest so he wouldn’t accidentally glare at the man. What Peter wanted to say was why would you give my sister to them? If you loved me you wouldn’t give my sister away like a fucking animal. If you loved me you wouldn’t make her stay with them. If you loved me you’d kill them both for touching her. 

“They love her, baby, like how I love you,” Tony kept his tone light, knowing that Peter was doing his best to reign in his fury despite not knowing how deep it went and the direction it was aimed, “they want to take care of her and make her happy, why shouldn’t they have the chance to?” 

The teenager didn’t respond but Tony felt the tremble that ran through his muscles and wondered if Peter was about to lash out. He’d been so good over the last few days with only small slip ups in his manners. 

“Penny should get to choose.” 

Tony Did Not Roll His Eyes, carefully running Peter’s hair through his fingers, “Choice is overrated, baby boy. Having a choice means having the opportunity to choose wrong and get hurt. You and Penny don’t need those kinds of choices. They’re stressful, all that’ll do is make you sad.” 

“But—” 

“End of discussion, baby,” Tony made sure his tone was stern but not mean as he tugged Peter’s head back by his hair, forcing the teenager to look into his eyes, “Penny will be staying with the soldiers unless I decide otherwise. Make your peace with it, Pete.” 

It was impressive, honestly, how carefully Peter maintained his expression. Intelligence and cunning flashed through his eyes, a chaos leashed by logic. He probably could’ve gotten past Tony taking him, with time. Life was easier in the tower; no school, no bullies, no worries over money or Penny’s health. He could’ve gotten used to it, made his peace with it, so to speak. 

If Tony hadn't taken Penny, he could’ve moved on with his new life. If Tony hadn’t given her away, he might’ve pushed through the emotional upheaval. If Tony wasn’t allowing those guys to do whatever they wanted with his sister, Peter might’ve been willing to go along with everything. 

But he did and had and was and Peter wasn’t raised to be the forgiving sort. He’d been raised by fire and fury and women who were angry. Aunt May and Penny, despite not being blood related, had the same fuel burning through their veins. The same indignation that came from the world trying to beat them down. 

The stolen circuit board tucked into his pocket burned against the fabric, ready to be added to the slowly growing stash of parts and pieces hidden around Tony’s apartment. 

Make your peace with it. Oh, he’d be making something.

[redjaybathood]

Red Hood: Outlaw #35

It’s actually really under-reaching issue. As it tends to be with everything since Artemis and Biz got stranded in alternative dimension. There’s some build-up, and there’s some resolution. But the setup and payoff - they just do not do anything for me. It has potential! Lobdell just likes to fuck himself over or something.

So, Penguin is amnesiac, and he magically forgets only about Red Hood’s identity. How convenient. (also, I said it and will say it again, THIS FANDOM NEEDS MORE AMNESIA FICS. DO NOT SHY AWAY OF USING OVERUSED TROPES. CANON USES OVERUSED TROPES.For example, here’s awesome WIP from one of the best get action writers in fandom - and just one of my favorites - redtruthed’s knowing me, knowing you sorry not sorry for offtopic)

As @scandalsavagefanfic said, it is possible that Jason did shoot blanks and the point of contact or something something could have hurt Penguin but how do you just, plan it out - you can’t, realistically. I believe more in soul-swallowing swords than this. So, okay. Maybe, seeing the full page and not just one panel from it made me discard - for now - my theory of Jason being delusional (and still, you can pry my headcanon of Jason being unreliable narrator from my cold dead hands). Yet, it is still ridiculous. 

I am - surprisingly - not pissed off as a good portion of people I follow or seen in tags here are, at Bruce, for not checking if Jason used the real bullet or a blank one. It was never the point. Not for Bruce at the moment - or at all, ever since “Did he fell or was he pushed”. So I’m not pissed or disappointed because, yeah, Bruce not caring about the fine details when he gets an opportunity to assert he’s good, jason’s bad, and to work out some of his frustration from getting dumped by Selina - that’s what the “12 angry men” homage in Batman was about, wasn’t it. (though Bruce rectified his ‘error’ there - does not that piss you off, guys?)

Miguel. Yet another character who did not reach his full potential. If he does not come back to fight with Red Hood to sort out their differences, or to do it any other way, that’s sad. But if he does, that would be like with Essence - so I hope it would get a different outcome, at least. Not because I want Bunker to beat up Red Hood - it’s just, everything is too easy for Jason, lately. Everything goes right. That’s great! But also boring. And it would be repetitive, too. On the other hand, if we continue with Jason worrying about the state of his mortal soul or whatever, or if he does not but we, readers, start to - that would give us at least some conflict that is not a one-dimensional reflection of recurring theme with Jason’s relationships with Essence, Bruce, whoever else.

Wingman is Willis Todd, alright,we knew it already. And what about it? He does not really add anything to the plot.I’m bitter about it. They could have at least made their relationships hold more meaning. Make Jason tell ‘James’ and not Isabel about his father, and childhood - make Willis react to that. Show us the drama. It’s like watching a very low-key telenovela. There’s your secret parents, coming back from dead, all the good stuff - and it is not used as a plot point. Such a waste.

Suzie getting the Ice Lounge, Is getting the Dog. Where Jason planned to go, after leaving Gotham? Good thing Lex found him when he did. Because can you really imagine it? Jason training his own proteges - a new generation of Outlaws. Please, do not fuck it up, Lobdell. I will love you forever if you pull it off.

All in all, I still liked the issue, even if it could have been so much better, in various ways, some of which I haven’t mentioned here, and some I did not think about. But, you know. That’s what we have fanfiction for.If it was perfect, would we write or read fics for it?