#joker/original female character

[gotham25052]

Dark Waters

Part 1

Part 1 summary: Anna moved to Gotham to disappear, but an encounter with the Joker takes away her anonymity and throws her life into disarray.

Contents: Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Notes: I'll be posting new chapters each week. I've had so much fun writing, hoping that maybe a few others out there will enjoy reading!

TW: Some violence, heavy themes including contemplation of death, major invasion of personal space

She immediately dropped the tray upon hearing the gunshot - it reverberated in the large ballroom, which had excellent acoustics. She was on the far side of the room, away from the activity, yet she had a good view of the group as they walked in.

Her heart seemed to stop, seeing the man in the lead. It wasn't hard to tell who he was, with the white face paint, black eyes, and jarring red lips. It was the Joker, the face she had seen in the newspapers and televised clips, striking fear into the heart of Gotham with his antics and erratic crime spree.

This was a world that was far removed from her everyday routine of work and survival. The gray hues of her sparse apartment in lower Gotham, the days and nights spent carrying dishes, washing, cooking - the debt she owed weighing her down and keeping her on the edges of life in the city. The physical toll of working constantly in a fast-paced kitchen gave her a kind of alertness that wasn't based on rest but instead on pure adrenaline and necessity, giving her the ability to perform well but also an unrelenting fatigue that plagued her.

She wondered why of all days, today she had been assigned to serving the guests instead of working the line in the kitchen. Since Bruce Wayne, the host of the event, was known as quite a ladies man, she had wondered if perhaps the catering manager wanted more women to be serving at this high-class event. Her simple ponytail and sparse makeup helped her dissolve into the background, but her striking, somewhat unsettling blue eyes may have influenced the manager's decision to add her to the service staff.

But in this moment, she forgot everything. Watching this man was utterly terrifying and also strangely captivating. She couldn't take her eyes off him. It was as if a streak of violent color was splashed onto her horizon. She hadn't noticed his bizarrely red lips in the grainy security footage that ran in news clips, but now when he was on full display, he seemed like a lightning bolt in red traveling across the white ballroom floor. She wasn't alone - the stunned crowd were all seemingly mesmerized by his shocking appearance and the turn the evening had taken. But as he drew near to each group, they looked away, afraid to make eye contact with this man and his goons. She watched until she could no longer see what was happening from her vantage point. The crowd seemed excited and she heard murmurs of 'Batman' - had he shown up to fight the Joker?

She could hear a shot and breaking glass, and then a deadly silence fell around her. The crowd seemed to be pressed down by renewed fear. Was the Joker still here? Was Batman gone? Her mind was reeling in confusion, her thoughts slowed by panic.

Despite herself, she couldn't help looking over to see what was happening. The tall figure in the purple jacket soon reappeared, his goons surrounding him, taunting the crowd. He had appeared frustrated before, but now he looked perfectly composed and at ease. He strode through the ballroom where most people now cowered to the floor, but others seemed stunned and unable to move from their original positions. He was almost to the elevator when he stopped abruptly and turned his head - toward her. Was this possible? Somehow he caught her gaze from far away, and now he was looking straight at her. It was as if he had somehow felt her eyes and seen her thoughts. And now he was turning to walk to her precise location. She thought she must be in some kind of nightmare - it didn't make sense, why would he be striding toward her instead of leaving the building? The police would be on their way.

And still, she couldn't break eye contact. She was like the prey frozen in front of the predator - somehow she was fascinated seeing her inevitable demise walking toward her.

She was nobody, why was he focusing on her?

His strides were unrelenting, breaking the space between them into smaller pieces until he stook right in front of her, far too quickly. He loomed large above her petite frame, looking so much taller up-close. She had the odd sensation that he was a protective figure, simply because her head was level with his shoulders - as if he were an older brother or a father. But looking up at him, she was shocked out of her temporary illusion. It was clear he was the Joker, the gaudy paint brighter and messier the closer he came. Her eyes met his again and for a moment she was lost - flecks of green and brown seemed to be dancing there, shifting all the time, like a fire was kindling in the darkness. She quickly snapped out of her trance and backed up to the wall to make a feeble attempt at escaping, her fear causing her to collapse to the floor when she could no longer move backward. She was like a prisoner on execution day, losing her ability to stand and walk to the gallows. She could hear others around her backing away, relieved that they weren't the ones singled out.

He simply came in closer, pulled her back to a standing position with one hand, and pressed his body up to hers, easily pinning her to the wall. One thing was certain, no one was going to make a daring attempt to rescue her. She was a non-VIP, a young woman in a cheap catering uniform - she would be a low priority for Batman and the police, even if they did manage to arrive. Her mind was still teetering on the horror of upcoming death and utter confusion as to why he had come to her. As someone who blended into the background, perhaps her one strength was her invisibility, and that was lost now. Time seemed to stop for her. She could feel the buttons on his vest, the rough texture of his jacket. She could smell him, feel him breathing calmly. As someone who lived a solitary life in the city, she was overwhelmed by this strange sudden intimacy, her senses overloaded. She tried to comprehend the fact that she likely only had moments left to live.

He wordlessly took his knife from his pocket and had it shining beside her lips in the next moment. But he turned away, his attention taken by his henchmen signaling that the police were closing in on the building. In that split second, something changed for her. She didn't want to be carved up in front of a crowd, and if he was going to kill her, she preferred for him to just do it and be done. She accepted her fate, and a strange calm enveloped her. She held up her free hand and gently guided his with the knife to her throat, away from her face. Something in the misery of her life, her deep fatigue, and her strange fascination with this wild animal in front of her led her to accept the end. He felt her body relax and turned back toward her, tilting his head slightly as if he was watching some unusual natural phenomenon.

She was surprised that he allowed her to move his hand downward until it rested on her neck. He seemed almost curious to see what would happen. He still hadn't said a word to her, nor her to him, but he looked into her eyes again and she felt that he could see the bleakness of her past and her struggle to survive in Gotham - as if he knew every thought. But somehow he could see this and yet no warmth, no empathy clouded his eyes. She could still see the uninterrupted flames there in his gaze. He seemed to take it all in with one unfeeling blink. A slight smile flickered on the edges of his bubbled cheeks.

He broke the silence. "Did you know, we are the only ones here?" Before she could think of any way to respond or even process his strange statement, he had loosened his grip slightly and with one hand, pulled a vial out of his pocket. He reached backwards to grab a napkin from a nearby table and soaked it with the vial's contents. It smelled terrible, like alcohol and gasoline mixed. Her terror came back with a rush as she realized this had something to do with her. She had prepared herself for death; she wasn't prepared for the unknown that could happen now. She squirmed between his body and the wall, but he easily resecured her so she could barely move. He placed the soaking cloth up to carefully cover her mouth and nose. Despite his men rushing around him, preparing to escape, he looked into her eyes, observing the fear behind them like a scientist watching an experiment, his expression blank. She was afraid of what would happen if she breathed, afraid of losing control.

She kept her gaze fixed on his eyes, still fascinated despite the lack of comfort there.

"Just breath," he said with some exasperation, exhaling forcefully on the word "breath." On his command her body gave up and finally took a desperate breath, and she immediately felt herself fading away. Her eyes went black even though she knew that they were still open, and as she lost consciousness, she felt the side of his face brush roughly against hers and heard him begin to whisper something in her ear.

"You…" But now she was gone, sliding into pure nothingness, her body collapsing to the floor as he took a calculated step back.

"Pour it out, let's go, let's go" the Joker called out loudly, his voice echoing off of the ballroom ceiling. A second wave of his men had entered the room, carrying what looked like gas cans, roughly painted in purple. They strode around the room, splashing the gasoline everywhere, adding an extra sheen to the shining marble floors. The scene was one of chaos as many partygoers struggled to find exits while others stood motionless, caught up in the unexpected shock of the events they saw unfolding around them.

"I'll take this one," the Joker said, loudly and gleefully, as he threw the unconscious woman roughly over his shoulder, her feet held in front and her head and arms swinging on his back as he took large strides toward the elevators. His companions had secured a way out for him in a stolen car that their allies in the police force would ignore. He paused for a brief moment and lunged out with his free hand to pull a sparkling ruby necklace off of a woman's neck as he passed by. "And may I have this, please?" he said with feigned politeness. She winced in pain from having the necklace snapped off her neck and cowered down to the floor, stunned. He swiftly pocketed it and picked up his shotgun.

"I bid you adieu," he said mockingly to those still watching the chaotic scene as he stepped onto the elevator. One of his companions lit a match and threw it onto the gasoline-slick floor.

His goons rushed around him to escape the building into their surrounding cars, while the Joker walked further on into a nearby alley. He unburdened himself of his human cargo and dropped her to the ground. He turned around, glancing at the building, now ablaze. He adjusted the position of her head slightly and quickly slipped the necklace into her uniform pocket. 'Take care' he said with a joyless grin as he ran to the car that had paused to pick him up nearby. The driver, one of his long-time companions, assumed the woman was probably dead, but his boss talking to unresponsive bodies was nothing new. He heard the boss humming as they peeled away and skidded through the streets of Gotham, to the part of the city where the Joker reigned supreme and no one would dare to interfere with him. The boundaries of that 'safe' zone for criminal activity were constantly expanding.

She woke up in a sea of black, not knowing where she was or what had happened. The first thing she could make out was the blurry orange glow above her. She blinked and slowly came back to herself. The glow came into focus and she heard the cracking flames - one of the upper floors of the building in front of her was burning vibrantly. Firefighters and police were running frantically on the road in front of the alley she found herself tucked away in. She was out of sight but perfectly positioned to watch the flames. Her body felt numb, like her arms and legs had yet to wake up, and she didn't want to enter the chaos of the bystanders and officials around the building's perimeter. She lay there motionless, the flames flickering on the sparkling surface of her eyes. She remembered the stories she had listened to as a child, about Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah —from the Lord out of the heavens…" She had shivered in fear as a child, thinking of the flaming rocks hurtling down to burn an entire city. In contrast, now the flickering flames seemed to spread warmth from her eyes to the rest of her body, as she slowly came back into consciousness. There was something almost beautiful about the way they hugged the stark edges of the building and licked the corners of the windows.

She jarred suddenly, realizing that the burning building in front of her was where she had been working, and everything came back to her. All the people in that room, had they escaped before this inferno? She felt like she couldn't breath as the details of the night returned - the group of men entering the room, the shots, the streak of red framed by white and black on his face - she remembered his face, so close to hers with its garish colors, the knife shining in front of her lips. Her strange decision to die quickly and his even more bizarre actions afterward. She remembered the horrible smell when he put the napkin to her face and the crushing pressure of his body.

She struggled to remember, had he put his face alongside hers, and whispered something in her ear, as her consciousness faded? Then it came to her, as if she was hearing it again, clearly enunciated and hissed into her ear, "You are the water, I am the ink." The strange words were somehow chilling, even though they made no sense to her, and she thought it was most likely that she had imagined it - maybe she had imagined everything? She instinctively put her hand up to the side of her face where she had felt his skin brush against hers. She brought her hand down, and in the intermittent light of the emergency vehicles and flashlight beams, she saw white and red makeup smears on her fingers. Her breath quickened in panic.

She forced her body to move and stood up unsteadily, her voice barely audible. "I think I need help. Something happened, please, can I talk to someone?" She pushed herself forward into the crowd of gathered onlookers and emergency personnel. She tried to direct her pleas to the officers she saw rushing by, pushing herself to say the words more audibly, "I think I need help." She was holding her hand with the makeup as if it was hurt - as if the colors had rendered it useless. An officer finally noticed her wondering confused in the crowd and seemed surprised when he saw her. He looked at her hand and touched her face. Pulling it back, he muttered, "It's just makeup." He motioned for an ambulance worker who was coming toward them to go back. "I don't know what you're up to, miss. Go home. We have lives to save here." He dismissed her pleading eyes and went back to directing the rescue operation and managing the crowds rushing up to watch the dancing flames.

She walked unsteadily to the train station, still holding her hand - she was far from her area of town, and she struggled to remember how to get home from here. Blue line, to L6, switch to the green line, 56th and Brooks. She mechanically switched trains and tapped her token on the gates, somewhat surprised she was able to complete the commute. She was relieved that it was early Sunday morning. This was the quietest time for Gotham's roads and transport. This was the one reprieve that went with her job - often she had to work through the early morning hours at late-night parties for Gotham's elite on Saturdays, but this quiet journey back to her apartment was a slight benefit that offset the exhaustion she felt every day after work. She made it up the stairs to her apartment and unlocked the door. She could often overhear fights and smell cigarette smoke in the hallways outside, but in the morning, it was sometimes calm like this. She just wanted to collapse into bed. The shadow of whatever drug she had inhaled hung in the back of her head, giving her a throbbing headache that was getting worse by the minute.

Her memories of the night seemed to be fading away, replaced by exhaustion and familiarity with her surroundings. The glimmers of luxury in the ballroom, the sudden ring of shots, that face… All seemed to be far away, in upper Gotham, where important people made important decisions. She wandered into the bathroom, thinking she should try to at least change her dirty clothes before climbing into bed. She stopped dead in front of the sink. In the mirror, she saw it, the white and black smear across the side of her face and a fat red streak from her cheek to her ear. She screamed and stumbled backward, her head striking the tile wall as she fell to the floor.

It was late in the day before she woke up. Despite the traumatic events she had been through, sleep had restored her somewhat. She realized that her work would begin in only a couple of hours, so she had to prepare to return to upper Gotham for another catered event. She decided to shower and eat something, replacing the rollercoaster of the night before with the regularity of her daily routine. It was a comforting thought, but also daunting. How would she work through the night cooking and washing dishes at the usual demanding pace with all that she had been through?

Luckily, she did have an alternate uniform to wear. She began to undress, but then felt that something was in her pocket. She didn't remember having anything in her pockets - what was this? She reached in, feeling the cold metal against her skin. She pulled out the ruby necklace, sparkling with a hundred shades of red, the gold links on the chain glittering in the fading sunlight from the window. It looked utterly foreign to this apartment, and in her hands - she had never held anything like it in her life. She had no memory of putting this necklace in her pocket, and noticed that the clasp on either end had been torn apart. She thought back through the events of the evening and her breath caught in her throat. Someone must have put it in her pocket, and it must have been the Joker's goons or the Joker himself. She sank down to the floor, disturbed and also finding herself in a new dilemma - should she take the necklace to the police? She saw how little they paid attention to her words the night before, and she worried that they would think she had stolen it herself. They might find it hard to believe she had innocently found it in her pocket. She would have to decide some other time - she needed to go to work now. She placed it awkwardly in a small bag in the closet, getting it out of sight to help clear her mind.

She couldn't return to normalcy. Every day she came back to her drab apartment with the faded carpet and wondered what to do with the broken necklace. She sometimes took it from the bag in her closet, turning the beautiful jewel so that it radiated like the sun, even in the cheap fluorescent lighting. Even though it reminded her of what had happened, seeing something so dazzling felt like a breath of fresh air in her suffocating life. She glanced at the pile of bills on the counter. She had to carefully calculate and juggle them, to pay some and leave others, so that she could keep the wheel turning and not lose her apartment.

Seeing the bills reminded her of the reason she was in this impossible situation. She remembered the court case with bitterness - the state had stepped in to help her dissolve her marriage and escape from the radical Christian sect her family had brought her up in, but in the end the legal costs all came back to her. She left her small town to seek solace in the anonymity of Gotham, but with nothing, and a pile of legal bills to settle. It was a miracle she had an apartment and a job at all. Even though she had read nearly every book in the small local library of her hometown, her closed upbringing left her with no formal education, not even a high school degree, making it nearly impossible to find work.

She sighed and collapsed onto the bed, thankful for at least the small comfort her home provided. She fell into a restless sleep.

Today was one of her easier days - she got to go in early and work at the catering company's restaurant instead of staffing a late night event. She purposely took the train and bus so that she could walk by the water on her commute. She loved to see the waves splashing onto the rock seawall, and it was one of the few things that gave her some comfort in her lonely world. When she had a rare chance, she would stop here day or night to watch the ceaseless movement of the waves. The night had a special charm, when the city lights glinted off the water and she was almost hypnotized imagining the unseeable depths of the dark waves. But today it was early evening, and she needed to move on to be at work on time. She caught the bus as usual. The still heat in the city seemed oppressive, making everyone sweat on the unairconditioned bus. She managed to crack a window that stubbornly allowed in a languid breeze from outside. She looked up at the power lines - they were covered with blackbirds. There were so many, they seemed to be weighing down the wire so that it might finally succumb and break under their weight. An ominous feeling crept over her, like the birds were some kind of evil omen…

"Benton street! Benton street!" the bus driver yelled, and she realized she was about to miss her stop. She pulled the wire hurriedly and the bus screeched to a halt. The driver grunted in frustration as she left, closing the door and speeding away the second she was on the street.

She trudged on to the restaurant, now visible and cheerful with its lights inviting guests in to dine. She entered through the back door in the alleyway. She stored her things in the locker and quickly tied on her apron.

"Hey Annie," she heard, and noticed the kitchen staff were all gathered around a small television screen perched high on the kitchen wall. "The Joker's taken over the channel 9 news." Everyone watched with rapt attention, as they could see the Joker's goons herding staff away from the anchor desk, leaving the chief anchor there alone. Someone was moving the camera closer to the desk to zoom in. And then there he was, the Joker, appearing from behind the camera and pulling a chair up to the side of the counter opposite the stunned reporter.

"Well hello there, Mike," he said, seating himself as if he was being welcomed onto the show for an interview. The anchor sat stunned and silent.

"I came here today because I have some concerns about lower Gotham," he began. "I think the city needs to leave well enough alone. The mayor and police chief in their cozy offices in upper Gotham, they don't know what's going on down here. They try to enforce their idea of order with extra patrols and I think it's just not good for ordinary citizens, like you," he said with emphasis, bringing his hand up to point at the camera lens and looking straight into it like a deranged politician.

His tone changed, lighter and casual now, turning back to the anchor.

"You know, Mike, I've been studying the city and learning so many interesting things lately. Gotham has a population of nearly 10 million people, and most of them live in lower Gotham. And did you know, he paused and turned again to face the camera, his voice hanging in the air icily, "Did you know, there are over 16 thousand people named Anna in Gotham city? Isn't that… crazy?"

She collapsed into a nearby chair, putting her head into her hands, as everyone in the room turned to look at her.

"That's weird, why would he say that?" someone commented. Everyone seemed to dismiss it, but she remained sitting for some time, the weight of his words crushing the little sense of normalcy she had tried to weave around herself since the events in the ballroom. What did this mean? Was he trying to threaten her? Why? Why would he even spend one moment targeting her? Her mind spun in confusion and a headache began to throb between her temples.

"Uh, Annie, we need some help in the kitchen," a voice shouted. She hastily got up and walked to the sink, helping with the washing, dishes piled high in front of her.

My original ink drop video, sorry about the auto-focus. :)

Additional notes: This is fanfic, so of course I don't own any characters from The Dark Knight (Joker, Batman, etc.). The main female character is original. The plot quickly departs from that of the movie.

[teejaywyatt1]

✨Chapter 7 of Heat of the Moment will drop on Thursday, November 9th at 2:30PM EST.✨

[missfortuneisblue]

"I hate talking about this, but... I do have depression. I hate it. I wasn't made to be sad and pathetic, I was made to be joyous and comical.

The pain makes it so much easier to ignore reality. To feel the sting of bruises and cuts, to beat the ever lovin' shit out of someone, to watch the misery and downfall of people who don't understand what it's really like to have one bad day ruining rest of your life...

It makes it so much easier to forget about my parents deaths…

*starts sobbing, putting her head in her hands…then starts laughing, the cackling and wheezing*

You know what’s the kicker? I see my parents everywhere. Still their happy-go-lucky selves! Laughing, enjoying life to the fullest, beckoning for me to come to them… but I have tried so many damn times to leave this godforsaken world! To be with them! To finally get a chance to hug them one last time!

Whoever created this universe, whatever fucked up piece of shit is watching, must think this is the funniest crap ever! And it is!

Who knew watching a psychopath wishing to die and go to Hell to see her dead parents was funny as fuck?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

- Miss Fortune, during a private conversation with the Joker upon a rooftop within Gotham City.

[sprites4ever]

OC BIO - Alex Martinez

Don't care + didn't ask + get shot in the face.

She/Her

18 Years old

British

1,65 m

Hobby Archaeologist, adrenaline junkie, adventurer, [DATA CORRUPTED] Instance of the [DATA CORRUPTED] Concept of [DATA CORRUPTED], doomed to not [DATA CORRUPTED] for more than [DATA CORRUPTED] Years

Theme Song: The Chemical Brothers - Go

Probably a Sociopath

Voice Claim: Ashly Burch/Elsie Lovelock/Giselle Fernandez/Deanna Mustard

[cheeseandbretboy]

JOKER (2019) AND JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX (2024) SPOILERS !!!

still trying to sift through my thoughts but i liked joker 2. i dont get how the ratings are so bad?? were people expecting a romance???? a fun movie? i mean even i was surprised by the depressing end but im really glad it happened because thats what joker 2019 was about too. arthur was never the actual 'joker' we see in dc films, and we knew that. his whole story is tragic but a lot of people missed that in the first movie. the second speaks on that to humanise arthur (even though thats what they literally tried to do in the first one?? didnt work i guess) and shame those who use him as a symbol for misogyny and incel stuff. i think what most people are mad about is how hes not as 'villainy' as the other jokers BUT AGAIN he was never the true joker and im confused as to how people missed that !! personally i loved how it shows that even after he's secured himself the identity of joker he's still repeatedly exploited as he was before that, and he has to come to terms with it. harleys character was really surprising for me because usually she's the one being manipulated by joker- in this case it was the other way around. especially interesting was how joker was the one who sung 'bewitched' about harley (the original song is sung about a man, so they had to change he/him to she/her) and the scene of joker and harley's show where she continues singing 'to love somebody' without looking at him, instead basking in the attention the audience gives her. people were expecting a twisted sexy romance between them but instead we were given something really uncomfortable and unnerving- like that sex scene. her character also gives insight into parasocial relationships and how weird and dangerous they can get. she never really knew arthur- she knew joker. the film starts with us finally happy that he 'for once in his life, has someone who needs him' and ends with us absolutely distraught. in the first movie, he says stuff like 'you dont listen' and 'i never knew i existed' and STILL after becoming an infamous killer, getting a show about him, EVERYONE talking about him, he's still not seen. there are just so many things the film points out about its fanbase (incels, parasocial relationships, identity, the glamourisation/sexualisation of violence, columbiners, exploitation etc etc) and i guess people don't like that. they want capitalism=bad, 'men have it so bad', and mm gore! which is fair- i loved it too- but it doesnt hurt to delve into the identity of 'joker' (whatever that is) and how that influences its viewers. its quite meta i like it a lot. they didnt care that the ratings would be awful because they had to speak on what the first movie did to people

oh also the intertextuality is just amazing. the songs are great, like i mentioned before with changing the female and male roles with 'bewitched', and even though i absolutely hate musicals this really worked fo rme. i think it's because musicals often have songs smack bam in the middle of realistic scenes and the singing just ruins it for me- but in joker 2 they're more often a part of arthur's fantasies so it was actually better. i wasnt sure about the musical element at first but after rewatching joker for like the 1000th time i realised how much its intertwined in the first movie- we just never really paid attention to it. the end of 'gonna build a mountain' was amazing (you have to pay attention to the lyrics), 'the joker' was great, and the few instances of violence we see from arthur while hes singing is really entertaining i love it sm. i keep mentioning 'betwitched' but i love it. 'she is cold, i agree, she can laugh, and i love it' ahh. i loved the intertextuality with nolan's the dark knight. a lot of people hate it, but i think people should be more flexible with inspiration and interweaving similar but different stories into films. just because it follows a similar story doesnt mean that it should either perfectly fit the mould of nolan's batman, but neither does it mean they should abandon it altogether either. harvey dent really surprised me, and even though he was a pretty minor character i loved the few references to nolan's batman they give (like his gory face after the explosion at court being a possible villain origin story). most obvious is the end though, where arthur is gutted by that inmate who admires him. the use of the joke was amazing and i was really surprised by how he got stabbed. you can see in this moment that arthur has been relieved of his identity of 'joker' and can finally rest as himself, just a mentally ill guy with a history of tragic abuse. when lee and his fans betray him (the real life ones too hilariously) we realise no one truly saw or loved him, and he couldn't deal with that. so, the identity of joker was passed on to that inmate- "ah, what a fine young son to take my place"- while he cuts a glasgow smile into his face. in felt this was sort of missing from joker 2019, so im really glad they used ledger's joker as inspiration for this inmate.

there's a lot more to talk about, ESPECIALLY gary's reappearance which im so so glad about, it really fleshed out his character. when he walked up to the stand, you can see people whispering and laughing at him- arthur never made fun of him. it really helps to make people question what constitutes a bad person. sure, these people didn't kill 6 people, but how easy would it be for them just not to laugh? it showed arthur's empathy, and how uncomfortable he was with admitting to it when trying to paint himself as the joker. "you were the only one who was nice to me" was said by arthur in the first movie when he kills randal and gary says something similar to him during court.

anyways wow that was great people are mad the 2nd movie is as depressing as the first (if not more). at the end ofthe first, arthur has a whole revolution loving him, and we did the same. at the end of the second we realise we never truly knew him, but exploited his character.

[absolutebl]

Hello! I discovered your blog relatively recently so forgive me if you’ve already done this but would you consider compiling a list of all the times crossdressing has been done in bl? Whether as a plot-device, for comedy, for serious reasons, just all the times crossdressing as a trope has appeared.

In a similar vein if you wanted to explore it I’d also be interested in the breadth of trans rep in bl/queer shows and movies in Asian media and if that ever blends into the crossdressing (maybe also drag would be interesting to throw into the mix as well?). Also just an exploration of Queer Femme characters that are not made fun of or villainized by the narrative would be cool! Basically just exploring femme queer aspects in bl in all its good, bad, and I’m sure sometimes ugly forms!

Hi, welcome! Ooo, crossdressing. Frankly I can't think of many and I don't have great recall on this one so I will have to ask the feed.

BL's With Crossdressing

Meet You At The Blossom (China 2024) - major plot point

Nobleman Ryus Wedding (Korea 2021) - historical, entire premise

Kieta Hatsukoi AKA My Love Mix-Up! (Japan 2021)

Love Stage (Japan 2020) - major plot point (better executed in the anime version)

Love Stage (Thailand 2022) - major plot point better executed than either Japanese version

About Youth (Taiwan 2022)

I Told Sunset About You (Thailand 2020)

Jack & Joker (Thailand 2024)

My Bromance the movie (Thailand 2014)

My Love Mix-up (Thailand 2023)

I Am Your King (Thailand 2017) - this is Mark Siwat's first BL, and yeah, he's the one cross dressing (he plays the femme rich boy in Jack & Joker)

The Sign (Thailand 2024) - historical costume for the girl of the past being played by a boy is a gender mix of female/male attire, it's very clever

YYY (Thailand 2022)

I feel like Gun has crossdressed in one of his. Theory of Love maybe?

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam 2022)

My Sky (Vietnam 2017) - trigger warning

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam 2021) - major plot point

Moots et al...... other (older?) BLs with cross dressing?

Others worth noting

Either the representation or the BL is in question, or it's not exactly crossdressing it's something else. Still, some obscure ones just in case.

Wait For Me at Udagawachou AKA Udagawachou de Matteteyo (Japan 2015) - may be triggering involves body dysmorphia and fetishization of trans identity, but if you can you should watch this

Spring of Crush (Korea 2022) - this is a bromance

Rainbow Prince (Pinoy 2022)

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan 2022)

Great Men Academy (Thailand 2019)

3 Will Be Free (Thailand 2019)

Love Sick 2024 (Thailand) - made an aggressively male character from the original into a newly out 3rd gender/trans character in the new version, very intentional modernization choice, fascinating. Directly addresses dead naming among other things in the few scenes she has.

Saneha Stories series from Thailand

You should follow Cooheart on IG he does some fantastic gender bending and crossdressing styles. He's the fashion icon gift that keeps on giving.

Thai BL has tons of representation and use of characters/actors of Thai third gender, a lot of which is for comedy. Rarely if ever in BL more like Diary of the Tootsies. I would say my favorite and most beloved 3rd G rep is in The Sign. But that is is different than what you asked for.

Femme rep I have talked about before, most specifically in the context of Daisy in Secret Crush On You......

More Queer Lens & Thai BL 

BL Linguistics & Queer Identity I Am Gay versus I Like Men 

Husband Wife Language in Thai BL (SOTUS, TharnType + a lot of 2022 BL) 

Thai BL Lacks Representation of Butch & Transgender Men (and why this has to do with Thailand's 3rd Gender) 

Thai Military Service & Thai BL

Hope that helps.

(source)

[do-you-ship-this-comic-ship]

propaganda:

This is for all of my fellow Two-Face and Gilda lovers out there! Personally I think that BruHarvey as a ship is underrated because of how much more popular other Rogues are (especially the Joker and the Riddler), and the prominence of ships between Bruce and various members of the Justice League (and of course the various comp het ships DC keeps trying to force Bruce into).

In comparison Harvey just doesn't really capture the fandom's imagination as much. Therefore BruHarvey isn't super popular because they don't consider it as an option a lot of the time. But that being said, I also find that a lot of people when presented with BruHarvey as a possible ship will be pretty amenable to it! It's just a fantastic ship if you want some old man/toxic/tragic yaoi! The ship has so much going for it! Childhood friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. Friends in their civilian identities, as they try to pursue justice for Gotham together, and even friends after Harvey becomes a villain too! It's SO juicy and has SO much unexplored potential if DC weren't COWARDS and would just let Brucie kiss men already! Each of their themes of justice, duality, and redemptive love mirror one another in such an exceedingly tantalizing way that I could write a whole college thesis on it! But I'm not just here about them. I'm also here for my girl Gilda too!

Now BruHarvey may be an underrated ship... And Two-Face as a character is just about rated as a character (not underrated. Not overrated. Just rated). But Gilda...? My poor, poor girl Gilda! Writers never know what to do with her and refuse to give her the justice she deserves!!! Gilda is a big part of the reason why Two-Face was able to work so well as a character and concept all the way back in the 40's in the first place! I don't think that Harvey would have been as iconic of a character with as much staying power as he does with just... SO MANY imitators if it weren't for Gilda's presence and ability to help Harvey redeem himself! The whole point of Harvey as a character is that while he might be a villain, he is never too far gone as to not deserve a chance at redemption. He genuinely cannot help himself when it comes to the compulsion of doing crime. And in his original stories, he was able to redeem himself and reach a happy ending with Gilda helping him, supporting him, and loving him through that journey.

The reason that Batman doesn't kill is largely because of Harvey himself! His childhood friend that he deeply cares about, and who, no matter how much society at large, and even Harvey himself tells Bruce that he is beyond saving, that he still cares about nevertheless and will NEVER give up on! And Gilda was the first person to never give up on Harvey and was the one to lead him back to the light! In a time where Batman might still occasionally use a gun and where the punishment most criminals would recieve in the comics was death or a lifetime of jail, never to be seen again, Two-Face stood out because of his redemption! A redemption that the writers of the comics stuck to for decades in spite of a clear demand to have Two-Face back as a threat! (Hence the many, many imitators.) And sure, the helpless damsel who saves the bad guy through the power of love may be a tired trope these days, but it's still one that can work very well, and as a woman first written in the 40's Gilda actually has a surprising amount to her that later writers would forget or just outright ignore! Gilda clearly was a female character who had more going on in her life other than her boyfriend at the time she was first written. She was actually a sculptor!

A woman with her own well-respected career entirely divorced from her DA boyfriend's! And while Harvey was her primary muse, I have doubts that her career just stopped when he turned to crime! After all, she seems to have been a woman who owned a house and lived on her own and had enough wealth to spend her free time going to the movies (and apparently buying herself mysterious cloaks). In the 1940's! We love a woman who can get everything on her own without needing a man (though it is a nice bonus) in this household! And she was doing it as an artist when that stuff was less common! And her other biggest trait is her unshaking love and loyalty for Harvey. I think that it's genuinely interesting how the crime and murder matters very little to Gilda (and similar characters that fill her role in stories). What she doesn't like is how he lies and tries to decieve her specifically. She would die for Harvey. She would kill for Harvey. She will stay with and help him through thick and thin. No matter what.

And very few pieces of media do her character justice! The Long Halloween may ostensibly be about her, but they gave her nothing in her life other than the men she associates with, a desire for children, and murder. Not even a hint that she was a sculptor, barely a hint that she studied law or anything that other iterations offered! She's my girl! And she could honestly offer a number of very interesting story posibilities, if only writers saw her potential! But clearly they don't given that for the last several decades, they've been writing her out of stories, or killing her off in brutal fashion so that they don't have to deal with the question of what she's up to while Harvey is doing his crime stuff. Hell. Gilda was the catalyst for the Long Halloween, so why isn't Dark Victory about nor even include her in person!??? Why not explore her being Duela Dent's mother!? Why not show her standing by Bruce's side while the both of them try to help Harvey recover!??? Why do the writers try to make Harvey NOT a wife guy!? Why can't they let Gilda be around and Harvey's wife that's cooler and more chill than him!? Why must Harvey be single!? By far he has the best romantic chemistry with (out of anyone who isn't Gilda) Bruce and no other major character! But if you stick Harvey and Bruce together for that sweet, sweet tragic yaoi and angst... Well... First of all DC are COWARDS who refuse to let Bruce be into dudes. And second of all, why not just let Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda be together and poly!!!? But I'm no coward! Double the partners means double the chances for tragedy and angst! (Or comedy if you'd like!) And double the possibilities for love, recovery, and redemption! Gilda wouldn't and shouldn't give up on Harvey!

And Bruce and Gilda cheating on Harvey without his blessing!??? BROKE! Them being in a polycule? Excellent! And if you need any proof that Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda could be a functional polycule, you should read the daily newspaper Batman comics as archived on @daily-batman! Because they make a GREAT case for it there, and seeing their relationship develop in that story is just delightful! Harvey watches Batman (that he's half figured out is Bruce) kiss his wife (named Alice but like... She's CLEARLY just Gilda with a different name!) and isn't bothered by it AT ALL other than it giving her hope that he can get better! Kissing his wife? That he understands and is perfectly fine with. But giving her HOPE!!!??? Now THAT'S a line too far! Sounds like something someone poly might do! And also... That series finale!!! Lol. Harvey getting jealous of and trying to kill Bruce for thinking that he's stealing his girl? Nah. Broke. Harvey being a-okay with Bruce smooching his wife because he's already in love with Bruce too...? HELL YEAH! Let's do it! Who needs love triangles when you can have power throuples instead!??? Join the few of us that enjoy the ship! And give Gilda and BruHarvey the love they deserve!!!!

Also just LOOK at the image I sent and tell me that it DOESN'T look like Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda are getting poly-married! BruHarvey is juicy and even more juicy with the added DLC of Gilda in the mix! And Gilda deserves the whole world! Give them the world!

[swamiiyasssss]

Dragonfly In Red

Jason Todd + Vigilante!OfficeSiren!Reader

This Hood would never have thought he'd fell in love with a goddamn suit. Tall, dark and gorgeous, she was the wildest of his dreams. A dragonfly amongst the birds, the bats, standing out too much for his own liking.

The suit's got secrets; He intends to take it all for his own.

Dragonfly In Red by yasswami Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Batman: Arkham (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Jason Todd/Reader, Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s), Jason Todd/Original Character(s), minor Luke Fox/Reader Characters: Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Titus | Damian Wayne's Dog, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Stephanie Brown, Joker (DCU), Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Lucius Fox, Luke Fox, Arkham Asylum Inmates, Arkham Asylum Staff (DCU), Riddler (Batman 1966), Jim Gordon Additional Tags: Slow To Update, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Episode: s01e09 Enemies and Lovers, Lazy Sex, Hate Sex, NSFW, Smut, Angst, Heavy Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Vigilantism, Vigilante Reader, Blood and Violence, Psychological Horror, Psychological Torture, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Blood and Injury, Blood Kink, Blood As Lube, Recreational Drug Use, Bondage and Discipline, Chair Bondage, Non-Sexual Bondage, Body Horror, Body Worship, Corporate core, Office Sex, Police Officer Dick Grayson, Restraints, Angry Sex, Angry Kissing, Fake Character Death, Survivor Guilt, Power Imbalance, Power Play, Office SIREN reader, suits & bandages, whump, can u notice i got a thing for blood aha

Jason bares his teeth. “ I find a dragonfly, ensnared in my trap.”

Red Hood/You. Dark & Explicit Themes. Mind the Tags.

[qulans6ri]

Hate when people claim to make fan content of batfam but don’t include Duke and/or Cass. If you dont know them,read the comics???am i saying i have read wvery batfam comic? Hell no,idgaf about jason and lowkey nightwing too,but that’s because i don’t necessarily write or draw batfam/wayne fam content, however if i did,i would do them justice and research and read at least their origin/solo comics and of course include ALL MEMBERS??

And no,Duke is not new,that is not an excuse at all, hell i would say excluding Jason would be more logical than excluding Duke or Cass. Like you dont have to read every batfam member comixs of course,but if you claim to make a full batfam or wayne fam content and not include Duke or Cass,it just might be because of racism and/or ableism+misogyny, or the fact they’re not really given their fanon stuff much(for better or for worse i dont know)Like Cass is just “girlboss” or/and the sweetest character ever (news flash treating female characters with just giving them girlboss title and not make them deeper or more complex is still underdevelopinh them and is misogyny)Duke isn’t really given fanon characterization except “sane and naive” which is??? What

But when looking at the said “batfam” content im actually glad they arent there because most of it is just fanon or mischaracterization,dont even get me started on Talia still being framed as a rapist in 2024 when it was already retconed,racist and lazy writing and writer(Grant Morrison*) himself apologized and admitted to not reading og talia/brutalia comics…. And not only that,but sometimes she and other batkids’ non-Bruce parents are just straight up villainised,(except for canonical villain parents or just abusive(not dysfunctional) parents like Cass’ dad,Jason’s dad and his mom who got him to joker,Steph’s dad etc) am i saying that most of them are perfect?No. but theyre more deeper and complex than just abusive, batfam fans love to say that they love complex characters but cant even handle drake parents smh..

[poisonousquinzel]

Origin

Harleen (2019) [Comic]

Harley Quinn: Mad Love [Novel]

The New Batman Adventures "Mad Love" [Episode]

Villain -> Emancipation Arc

Batman: The Animated Series

"Harlequinade", "Harley & Ivy", "Harley's Holiday"

Batgirl Adventures (1997)

Detective Comics #831

Harley Quinn: Wild Card (Backstories). [Book]

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10

Batman Secret Files: The Gardener

Injustice: Year Zero #7 - #8, #14

Unofficial Continuation Of Harleen (2019)

Harley Quinn (2000) #1, #2, #4, #6, #12

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1, #3, #14

"Harleen: Red", "Get Yer Story Straight", "Fixer Upper"

Harley Quinn: Make Em Laugh #1, #2

"Headshrink", "Housewarming", "The Lady or The Tiger"

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #2

#2: "Origin Stories For Dummies", [skip middle story], "Coffee And Pie Oh My"

Batman (2016 - ) #105

---

Notes {Mild Spoiler Warning}

Batman (2016 - ) #105

This is in the middle of a story arc, but it doesn't really matter. Only context you need for Harley's part is that she, Batman and a kid named Bao (Clownhunter) were knocked out and brought to Arkham as a part of a separate conflict between Bruce and someone. ❤️

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red

The first chapter, "Harleen: Red", is connected to and takes place in the Harleen (2019) universe. Best read after Harleen and the unofficial continuation.

The continuation is just parts that Stjepan has posted online over the years, I tried my best to put them in an order that flowed. <3

Batman Secret Files: The Gardener

The full comic isn't Harley centric, but I absolutely adore the way Bella tells the tale of Ivy's origin & meeting Harley, it's a cute part showing their relationship.

Harley Quinn: Wild Card (Backstories)

This one is kinda like a somewhat more detailed cliff notes for kids. Parts of her origin is different and aligned with her Rebirth one, but I think it's great to get a feeling of how her character progresses. Though like I said, it is definitely for a preteen & younger audience so some stuff is watered down. Her relationship with Joker isn't as graphically abusive (he's a toxic little bitch, but not shown being directly physical with her.), and her introduction into the Suicide Squad is more chill and something she agrees to do.

But even with that, I love it! It's got pencil sketches throughout, notes from Harley herself which I think is a lovely detail and added bits about her relationship with Ivy over the years.

Harley Quinn (2000)

#6: this is kinda the beginning of a two chapter plot, but I'm including for stuff in this chapter only.

Also, her characterization during one part that involves Bruce's female bodyguard feels ooc imo, especially considering it's the same writer from #2.

[gotham25052]

Dark Waters

Part 2

Summary (all parts):

"'I've been here a long time, playing with your hair. You must have been thinking about something… important,' he said, his voice sounding strangely familiar.

He leaned in closer, his scarf falling down and exposing his scarred lips. He spoke as if he was telling her a secret that was only between the two of them. 'You know, people will think we're lovers, here on the rocks, watching the water.'"

As the social fabric of Gotham begins to fray and the Joker's intrusion into her life escalates, Anna struggles to maintain control. But is she threatened by the Joker or by something within herself?

Contents: Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

Notes: I'll be posting new chapters each week. The story diverges from the movie during the ballroom scene in part 1. In part 2, the newspaper article helps explain how changes have rippled out onto the political scene in Gotham.

TW: Some violence, drug use

Dark Waters, Part 2

From a distance, it looked like fireworks. Since it was early July, those further away thought it was exactly that and dismissed the flashes and pops. Those living closer, however, could see how low the explosions were and how unlike the colorful whirls they usually saw this time of year. The shower of sparks rained down to the ground under the high voltage power lines, some of them beginning their own fires below.

The transformers on the power lines leading into Gotham were exploding, unpredictably bursting into flame. The show was quickly becoming more visible as the buildings in the city went black and the only light came from the fizzling remains of the transformers and the fires they had sparked.

The Gotham Gazette Vol LXVII, No. 226 July 12, 2008

The man of the hour is certainly Harvey Dent, who wed his long-time girlfriend, prosecutor Rachel Dawes, today. Dent surprised the establishment in Gotham with his quick rise to power this summer, beating his opponents in the special election for mayor after the sudden disappearance of former mayor Anthony Garcia. The wedding was a sight to behold, an outdoor gala followed by a formal dinner and reception at Wayne Manor, hosted by the eccentric billionaire himself. Rachel was stunning in her elegant designer gown and a simple tiara of flowers, while Dent was dashing as usual, sporting a tailored suit and his signature mop of blond hair. The couple postponed their honeymoon, as Dent lost no time returning to work in the city center. He cited the pursuit of the Joker as the city's top priority, pointing out the destruction caused by his large-scale attack on the power grid. It's no surprise Dent has labelled the Joker as a danger to the city. The criminal mastermind has consolidated power among the city's mob bosses and seems to draw from an endless store of cash to fund his attacks.

"Gotham won't be safe until the Joker is in Arkham… or in the ground," Dent said on the steps of the capital building as he returned to his duties as mayor.

Annie was standing at the counter in the early afternoon, with bread, meat and cheese carefully arranged in front of her. She was making sandwiches for the next few days in this rare peaceful moment. Cars drove by erratically and she heard snippets of shouted conversations from the open window, but that was nothing unusual for a Saturday afternoon. She wrapped the sandwiches in foil with an experienced hand, carefully tearing off just enough to carefully cover each one, with the edges barely overlapping. She would need to make it last - she was usually able to hold off for months before having to buy more.

She had already taken precious money away from her paycheck to buy a gas hot plate and a flashlight to help her get by during the frequent power outages that now plagued Gotham. The most vital artery of the power grid that fueled the city with its bright lights and climate-controlled buildings had been destroyed in so many locations that it would take the city months to repair. According to the news, a massive cyberattack sponsored by the Joker had rerouted power systematically, overloading the transformers. Rolling blackouts to ration the power supply were becoming a regular occurrence.

Whenever she caught a news broadcast on the bus or at work, interviews with Mayor Dent highlighted his efforts to restore power to both sides of Gotham. But she noticed that every time she staffed a party in Upper Gotham, the lights were on, whereas the closer she came to her home in Lower Gotham, riding on the bus, the more likely it was for her to see the streetlights go black and the hum of the city suddenly become silent. The outages, though, were not the concern at the forefront of her mind.

It had been a month since she heard the Joker's chilling words broadcast on the news at work. "Did you know, there are over 16 thousand people named Anna in Gotham?" he had said. Did he intend for her to see it? Was it a threat? Or was it some strange coincidence, and he had now forgotten about her? She hoped for the latter, but as little as she knew of him, she felt that his words were not likely to be insignificant.

And then there was the problem of whether or not she should go to the police. The sparkling ruby necklace in her closet weighed on her conscience. Every day, she wished it would disappear, but it was always still there, hidden inside the small bag she had used to conceal it. What would they think of her story? Would they believe her?

Her focus quickly shifted to the door. She thought she heard the lock click. She froze immediately, not knowing whether to hide or stay where she was. The door opened and she knew it was him - his purple jacket appeared like a nightmare materializing, his back to her, appearing to be giving some kind of order to others in the hallway. He turned and entered the apartment, closing the door carefully. The Joker dropped the clown mask he had been wearing over his painted face on the floor. Her feeling of safety in her home, her last shred of security, simply evaporated.

She moved away from the counter in fear as he stepped in to the room nonchalantly, as if he was a neighbor casually dropping in for a chat. If he seemed imposing in the ballroom, he looked a hundred times more menacing in this small apartment. Somehow his strange attire and odd manner fit the ballroom with its high ceilings and theatrical decor - like he was an actor on an elaborate stage. Here in the dingy studio apartment, he loomed over the small space.

He turned his head from side to side, regarding the barren room. No photos of family and friends adorned the walls, and no personal touches seemed to make the apartment her own. The bed stood near the far wall of the open room and one solitary chair was pulled up to the counter. "I like what you've done with the place," he said, ending his survey of the room and turning toward her.

Time seemed to stop. She felt as if he had walked directly from her memory into her apartment - he had the same face paint and layered jackets. He had appeared so quicky and silently she questioned the soundness of her mind and wondered if perhaps this was an image that her imagination, overwhelmed by her experiences, was creating for her.

All the dread of the last two weeks formed into words. "Why did you come after me?" escaped from her lips before she could silence them, and she immediately regretted speaking.

He crossed the room in four long steps and was suddenly so close she could feel his breath. She didn't dare to move.

"To finish what I started," he said, his manner suddenly intense.

She was filled with fear but also bewildered. "To kill me?" she asked.

"What?" he said with exaggerated surprise, lightening his tone. "To save you, of course." He stepped away and moved to the counter, where he picked up an apple and took a messy bite.

"Please continue… whatever you're doing," he mumbled, his mouth full. She recognized that she should simply obey, though she had to fight her instinct to panic and run. He pulled the chair out into the main room and sat down, bringing out his cell. She forced her arms to continue ripping off sections of foil and wrapping the sandwiches. She worked slowly and deliberately, not daring to glance up at what he was doing.

He had been looking at his phone but his eyes soon found her again, carefully studying her motions on the counter from across the room. He shifted slightly for a better view, and then slipped his phone into a pocket and got up. She sensed the movement and froze immediately.

"Want some help?" he said with feigned normality. She remained still, hardly breathing. All she could do was watch. He glanced at her, licked his lips, and sloppily grabbed the foil. He pulled out a section, a bit more than she would have, and looking at her quizzically instead of at what he was doing, wrapped the next sandwich with very little care. Continuing to regard her expression, a mix of fear and confusion, he went for the foil again, this time pulling out an extravagantly long piece, more than she would have used in a week. He threw a sandwich in and wrapped the shining mass a needless number of times around the small meal.

Before she knew what was happening, he pulled the roll out of the box and let it fall to the floor, gliding across the room until there was a dazzling stripe of silver in front of them, reflecting the light in a surprising contrast to the otherwise dim environment. Their eyes lingered on it for a moment. He put his hand out and laid it on the foil, drawing his fingers inward to slowly crinkle one section. In the next moment, he had crushed the entire sheet into a messy ball and dropped it in front of her.

She looked up at him in confusion, wondering what he would do next. He glared back, sneering, "You know why I didn't kill you? You can't kill someone who's already dead." He turned on his heel and briskly left the apartment.

He was gone? She collapsed to the floor in relief, holding her head in her hands, sobbing with pent up emotion. After she was exhausted from crying and felt he was truly gone, she looked at the clock and realized she would be going to work in only an hour. She committed to herself that she would go to the police the next morning - there was no way around it now.

She rose to see the mess on the counter. Her fingers tried to unfurl the crinkled mass of silver.

She gritted her teeth as she walked the rest of the way to the police station. It was a bad habit that contributed to her headaches.

She felt that it was a necessity to come here after the Joker had actually shown up in her apartment, but it was a harder decision than it would have been for the average person. She knew from her long legal struggles to leave the radical religious group she grew up in that the law was not always just and unbiased. The local authorities upstate where she was from were terrified of the Church, and afraid to do anything that would push them too far. In the end, there was a deal with the group that allowed her to have her freedom. They had let one of the Church's members out of prison, almost as if it was a prisoner exchange with a terrorist group. Her experience with local law enforcement had been far from positive, and now she was in Gotham. The liquid of corruption throughout the state all flowed to this central beating heart, where it circulated and pumped out again, rejuvenated and refreshed.

She took a deep breath and climbed the pockmarked concrete steps to the large doors. She had to try twice to open them, but as soon as she did, a motley group exited, almost knocking her over. They ignored her completely and continued down the steps. From her experience in the city, she would guess that they were from one of the well-known crime families of the city.

She regained her composure and stepped into the police department. Gotham City PD was always busy, and the people she saw seemed to know exactly what they were doing and where they were going. She hesitated, wondering about whether her appearance would undermine her believability. She had large circles under her eyes that she had tried to disguise, for the most part, unsuccessfully. After the Joker's visit, she often woke up more tired than when she went to sleep, despite her exhaustion from work. She sighed, knowing it would have to do. She had to try.

She found an officer, who looked like he was in perhaps slightly less of a hurry than the others.

"Where can I find someone - I can talk to about… a break in?" she asked hesitantly.

"A break in?" The officer hardly glanced at her. "Yeah, just go up the stairs and to the left."

Somewhat calmed by having directions to follow, she made her way to the door he had pointed to. She realized it was a large waiting room with benches, and she went to the desk to check in. She sat down, looking over the strange collection of humanity in the GCPD today.

There was an older man in tattered clothes and a military jacket, his eyes darting around the room. Next to him was a nervous young couple, the man's leg incessantly tapping the floor, both looking extremely uncomfortable. The last person in front of her was a quiet woman sitting very still, with a jacket pulled up close around her face, despite the hot weather. Even with the collar pulled up, the blue and purple bruises were easy to see around her eye and cheek. Annie drew a deep breath. She had seen all of this before, but something about these people being shuffled through this office like so many rejected products at a factory made their plight seem much more disheartening.

After what must have been an hour, her turn came, and she walked into the small office. The walls were blank, giving her nothing that she could distract herself with to help calm her nerves. The officer behind the desk looked calm but impatient in the way he was rearranging the papers and reports in front of him. He seemed to be looking forward to whatever was coming next in a way that made her feel as if her complaint had already been dismissed.

"Good morning, please have a seat," he said without looking up from the papers on his desk. She sat down awkwardly in the wooden chair.

"Ok," he said, finally looking up at her. "You said at the front desk that you had a break-in?"

"Yes." she began. Her voice was unsteady - she never felt very comfortable trying to speak with officers, and knowing how far-fetched her story was made her want to get up and leave immediately. "That's right. But I should go back and tell you about what happened at the fundraiser first…"

The officer waited for her to continue, pen in hand and seemingly disappointed that it wasn't going to be a simple break-in he could file away.

"I work for… Gotham Culinary. I was staffing the fundraiser that Bruce Wayne sponsored, for Harvey Dent. The Joker, he came to the party with his men. It was in the news."

"Yes. We interviewed everyone who escaped before the fire, but I don't remember seeing your name on that list," he said skeptically.

"Well, I wasn't with the others who might have gotten out," she said. She tried to explain the strange events that had happened in the ballroom. Her speech was alternately halting and rushed, and she knew it didn't sound convincing. She flushed with embarrassment.

"We had reports of the Joker leaving carrying a woman - you're telling me that was you?"

"Yes."

He looked down at his papers again, and she thought she caught a look of amusement on his face. "Um, ok. Would you like to tell me about the break in now?"

She tried to shift gears into explaining the visit from the Joker.

"Well, he just opened my apartment door. I don't know how he did it without a key - can he pick locks? I don't know. But he came in and… he spoke to me and um…" She realized that saying he had stepped in to wrap sandwiches sounded ridiculous. "He just spoke to me and left. But, I thought that he had come to kill me. I don't feel safe anymore."

"He didn't take anything, he didn't harm you?"

"No."

"Uh huh. Do you have a date for the break-in?"

"Yes, it was yesterday, July… 15th."

He wrote it down on the report and looked up slowly.

"Is that all?"

"No, I also - I have this necklace. From the fundraiser, I mean. He, or his men, they must have left it with me, I found it in my pocket." She pulled out the heavy necklace and set it on the desk. For the first time, the officer had a genuinely concerned look.

"I'll take this into evidence," he said, bringing out a plastic bag and quickly enveloping the necklace there, setting it aside.

"I know it all sounds a little crazy," she said, smiling awkwardly, trying to show that she was a normal person who had been drawn up into this strange situation.

The officer got up, seeming to shake off the veneer of professionality he had been projecting. He came around to stand beside her chair, towering over her, crossing his arms and leaning back on the desk.

"Now miss, you expect me to believe that the Joker," he said with emphasis, "kidnapped you from the fundraiser, only to leave you outside in an ally. Then, the Joker, the criminal mastermind, the biggest gangster in Gotham, bothered to come to your place, miraculously undid the locks. And then he just spoke a few words to you? Why would the Joker be interested in someone like you?

"We have yahoos a dime a dozen coming in here, saying they have seen the Joker. You take the cake with this ridiculous story though. But what really gets me, is how you managed to get that necklace. Did you pull it off of a body in the ballroom? Did you find it on the street? What kind of a lunatic are you? I should book you right now and recommend psychiatric evaluation. My guess, they'd send you straight to Arkham. But I'll be honest, that's a lot of paperwork for me, and you look pretty harmless. Why don't you get back to your apartment in Lower Gotham, and don't waste any more of the GCPD's time? If we find out you stole this necklace, we know where to find you."

She sat shocked, almost paralyzed. She realized her best option was to leave as soon as possible. "Ok, I'll.. go." She stood up and walked out of the station in a daze.

She stood outside, trying to process what had just happened. She had worked so hard to escape the captivity of the Church. Even the hand to mouth existence she had in Gotham was worlds above her trapped existence in the closed world of the cult group. To go into an even more tightly controlled environment like Arkham was her worst nightmare. Like most residents of Gotham, she had heard stories of the long solitary confinements, the medication, the violently insane inmates kept there. She would have to hope that perhaps the owner of the necklace wouldn't be found, and they would simply forget about her visit. One thing was certain, she couldn't return to the police.

And what if the Joker came back? She felt completely powerless - there was no one she could appeal to. She started running from the police station, as if somehow she could escape from her fate by simply running down the street. She brushed past bystanders, unconcerned about their surprised glances. She ran until she reached the shoreline. This wasn't the place she usually came to watch the dark waves roll onto the unforgiving rocks, but she felt some sense of freedom in seeing the open horizon before her, knowing she had put some distance between herself and the police station.

All of the stress of the Joker's intrusion into her life and now the new threat of incarceration came into her throat and fought its way out in her screams. She didn't know she could scream so loud - the sound came out effortlessly. She screamed at Gotham, at fate, at this upside down world where she was trapped on all sides.

Luckily, there were few people around. With no shortage of homeless wanderers in the city, anyone who heard her would chalk it up to another unfortunate Gothamite whose mind had turned on them in the lonely streets.

She was finally done, her voice hoarse. She felt somehow relieved, empty. She looked at the time on her phone. She only had 30 minutes to get to work, on the other side of the city. She knew that she would be late.

It was the kind of day she dreaded. She would be working the kitchen at a large catered event, where the customers had required all the courses be made from scratch. It doubled her workload, and she knew she would be ready to drop by the end of the night.

She was making her coffee and realized she was almost out. It was the one luxury she allowed herself, and she looked forward to the plain black brew each day.

She returned to the bathroom, taking a shower to put herself together before work. Since the visit from the Joker, she had felt distracted and insecure. She hadn't been very good about keeping the apartment clean or taking care of herself, and the effort just to get to work seemed like an enormous task. She was always fearful, awaiting another inevitable visit. She felt a little refreshed after her shower and retold herself the words of the police officer, "Why would the Joker be interested in someone like you?" Despite the malevolence of the officer's words at the time, it was comforting to think that it made no sense for the Joker to seek her out.

She went back to the kitchen, nearly ready for work and taking her time to sip on the coffee. She sighed and wished she could just return to bed instead of embarking on what promised to be a difficult day. She adjusted her uniform, carefully buttoned but always seemingly slightly askew, never quite sitting on her shoulders correctly.

Suddenly something startled her out of her quiet reverie and she looked toward the door. It began to open, and she stood up in disbelief. The extra lock she had installed above the doorknob was undone. Had she forgotten to lock it?

She didn't have long to wonder, as the tall figure of the Joker entered the room. He looked rushed today, as if he was in the midst of some important project. He closed the door behind him and put away his phone. She realized that he was not wearing his usual purple jacket but instead had on a simple gray suit. She could see more of his face as he turned toward her. It looked like he hadn't had time to refresh the makeup and a good amount of it was completely rubbed off. She took a quick breath in surprise as she realized from his broad shoulders and more exposed face that he wasn't nearly as old as he had seemed on her first impressions of him - he looked to be in his early 30s, likely only slightly older than her. The thought was not comforting. She did not have much hope of fighting with him if there was a struggle before, but now that reality seemed inescapable as she realized how easily he could overpower her.

"Good morning," he said cheerily, but his face remained blank, as if his words had no connection to his emotions. Her eyes were wide with fear and her mind was racing to make some kind of plan for escape. He came closer to the counter, absentmindedly looking into the nearly empty cup, then pushing around her to look at the bag beside the coffee pot.

"Almost out!" he exclaimed. "You must like coffee." He shook the bag, as if emphasizing how empty it was. "You know, why don't you try real drugs?" He turned toward her and she realized how very close he was. The crackling energy of his demeanor today seemed almost palpable. He looked over and noticed the folded aluminum foil on the counter, the pieces she had managed to save from his last visit. He raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Here." He reached into an interior pocket on his jacket and pulled out a clear bag with white powder inside. He set it on the counter. "Go ahead, have some."

She didn't move, frozen. This was outside of the realm of anything she had expected.

"Try it, you'll like it," he said with an edge to his voice. He stooped down slightly so that he could look her in the eye, regarding her carefully. "I don't have a lot of time today."

He stood up and slowly opened the bag. She could see upcoming danger in his eyes and turned to make an attempt to run. He stepped forward and his arm was around her neck and shoulders immediately.

"Let's see what you do. How will you fight?" he said, his voice a mixture of anger and amusement. She made an effort to push his arm away with her hands but it was like a vice grip around her, solid and unmoving. She shook her body violently from side to side, trying to break away with all her might. He had to put in some effort to hold her, but it was obviously child's play for him.

"That was really good, you're stronger than you look. Probably all those dishes you wash," he said with an admiring tone. "But I can tell no one ever taught you how to fight." She started to scream, but even she knew that would do no good in some of the worst apartments in Lower Gotham. Even if someone noticed the sounds, they wouldn't intervene for fear of crossing the wrong people. She stopped to catch her breath. He tilted his head to quietly murmur in her ear. "No one's coming, kitten." Her mind reeled with the bizarre nickname. Had he said "kitten"? The thought quickly left her as she began to struggle against him again.

He resumed opening the bag with one hand calmly, still easily securing her with the arm he had wrapped around her.

"Here we go," he said, lifting the bag with his fingers so that it poured into his open palm. "This stuff is great. You can sniff it, breath it, eat it, anything works." She turned her head away as far as possible and closed her eyes and mouth.

"I guess we'll try all three." He suddenly placed his palm with the powder over her face, covering her nose and mouth. She refused to breath. "That's ok, I'll wait," he said calmly.

She couldn't resist for long, and her body forced her to draw a breath, involuntarily gasping for air. He took the opportunity and forced part of his hand into her mouth, wiping the powder off on the inside of her cheek. He withdrew it quickly and she began to cough and sputter, spitting out what she could. He let go and moved away. The powder covered the lower half of her face, and she continued her coughing fit, doubled over.

He waited until she began taking regular breaths again, helping her to sit down. She leaned on the counter for support. Her head was spinning, and it seemed everything in the room was shifting.

"It should be taking effect now, it's a little delayed. You may not want to drink any more right now, it could be too much," he said, picking up her cup and pouring the remainder into the sink, and then emptying the coffee pot as well, as if it was something he did every day. She moved her head from side to side, trying to bring his face back into focus.

"It was in the coffee, kitten, in case you didn't figure that out yet. The white stuff is just powder, it's harmless."

He walked away and turned to leave, opening the door. "Have a nice trip, see you next fall" he said lightly. Outside, he gave his man instructions. "Watch her, make sure she doesn't walk out a window or something." The man nodded obediently and went inside to stand watch by the door. She was still clutching the counter, but it was clear that her mind was no longer present, her eyes focusing on some far away world.

She felt that she was floating at first, gradually letting go of her thoughts, her burdens, escaping from the oppressive heat of summertime in Gotham. Suddenly she was back in the ballroom again, holding the tray of tableware. This time she felt different, light, like she could travel anywhere without being noticed or seen.

She saw him enter the ballroom from a distance. The colors struck her as they had before, but this time his red lips seemed to be leaving a trial of paint in the air. With every turn of his head, the color bled from his lips and stayed there, sitting in the empty space like a liquid, floating in irregular lines and curves. She tried to focus more carefully and found the red designs he left as he strode through the ballroom did not fade away but became even more clear and distinct.

She knew no one could see her today, so she made her way toward the floating swirls of red. She couldn't help herself - she reached out with her fingers to touch the magical streaks of color. They seemed to melt like waxy paint on her hands, staining them a bright red. She found that she could move the lines of color, and make new swirls with her stained fingers as she ran them through the empty space, as if the air was somehow water… She found herself dipping and spinning in the red hanging there, staining her clothes with bright whirls of color. She closed her eyes, lost in the sudden music that arose.

A moment of logical thought interrupted her enjoyment. Why would the band be playing when the whole ballroom was held hostage by the Joker? She opened her eyes and suddenly found herself in a sea of purple, the rough texture of the jacket scratching her face - she was suffocating again, his body crushing her against the wall - how could she be here? She had thought she was invisible… She looked up to see his white face and cold eyes, the paint seeming to flake off like powder in a white flurry around her, and she screamed, again and again, terrified.

The man at the door answered a call on his cell. "Update me, I'm bored," the boss demanded. "What is she doing?"

Her screaming was certainly audible on the other end of the line, but wanting to answer the question, he said, "Uh… she's screaming."

"Is that all?" he asked, unsatisfied.

"Well, earlier she was… maybe… dancing… I guess. She was smiling."

The Joker started to laugh, first a little, then uncontrollably. The man waited on the other end of the line, knowing that he shouldn't hang up yet.

He abruptly stopped his laughter and said, "Don't let her hurt herself. Give her another few hours and then leave once she's sleeping."

"You got it, Boss" the man replied unquestioningly, unfazed by the bizarre events.

Additional notes: This is fanfic, so of course I don't own any characters from The Dark Knight (Joker, Batman, etc.). The main female character is original.

[ao3statistics]

This is self-made. Date: 30.07.2024

Honestly, the only result surprising me is the HQ/Bruce Wayne ship...

OFC = Original Female Character(s)

The Jokester: a hero on Earth-3, appearing in the comic series "Countdown" in 2007.

Ivy Pepper: Poison Ivy from the Gotham TV series (correct me if I'm wrong)

Jerome Valeska: a mass murderer from the Gotham TV series who seems weirdly similar to the Joker

Richard "Rick" Flag Jr.: field commander of the modern Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Squad

Arthur Fleck: Jokers (potential) real name in some media

I assume no guarantee or liability for the completeness, correctness and accuracy of this chart despite my best efforts.

Includes fanfictions in all languages available on Ao3, NOT English only.

Includes all fandoms connected to the name "Harleen Quinzel" and her alias "Harley Quinn".

Percentages were rounded up or rounded down to natural numbers for easier comprehension.

Poly ships were included.

More charts will follow. :)

Want to have a chart for different pairings, headcanons etc. in your favourite fandom? Send me an ask!

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Just started Medjed arc of P5R; here are my current thoughts on the characters I know so far:

Joker: Look, I know people say he's a "self-insert" but I really, really see a few very distinct personality traits in him. He's lost in thought a lot. He zones out. He's really goal-driven. He's clever. He's a risk-taker. He's wary of consequences. He takes a little while to trust people, especially adults. He's suspicious and easily annoyed. He's on your side. He wants to help. He's a snarky little shit. His compassion is as much his defiance as his bitter disdain. He's hesitant. He's confident. He's bluffing. His respect is earned. His assistance isn't. He's free. He's chained. He's larger than life. He's a dumbass dork of a teenager. Incredibly fun character to play as, 10/10. I love that you can actually see him becoming more confident as time goes on. His dialogue options also become sillier/snarkier/more teasing as he becomes closer with people. It's just fun. I have a lot more thoughts on him but I'm going to stop here. I'd love to do a bit of an analysis on him once I finish the game - I'd like to go back through his main story dialogue options and his idle and specific scene animations. Plus, they seriously popped off with his character design. There's so much I could say about that alone.

Ryuji: Ryuji, my beloved. I wish you were less horny in uncomfortable ways in some scenes - I think, as well as Atlus not knowing what teenage girls are like, they also have not... spoken to people raised by single mothers, or mothers who got out of an abusive relationship... but anyways, asides from that, I love Ryuji. I think his desire for popularity makes a lot of sense - he's only ever stood out in a bad way. He just wants to be liked, you know? And he doesn't think he's enough the way he is. He's trying his best. I need him to shut up so bad but also I hope he never shuts up, you know. He's genuinely so funny, and he's the most ride or die of anyone. Ryuji gets angry on everyone's behalf when they can't muster up their own anger yet. Everyone say thank you, Ryuji.

Morgana: I do not get the hate for this not-cat; he's so funny to me. He's becoming a little more aligned to the thieves' morality, which is probably for the best since at the beginning he was definitely down with accidental murder and totally open about his pragmatism. He actually encourages this in Joker. It's just funny. I love my emotional support not-cat bestie who sits in my desk at school then tells me to go strike shady deals with random people in back alleys. You can definitely see a change in Morgana though; he's becoming more excited about helping people for the sake of it (like Joker, he too has gained purpose), but he's also becoming more insecure.

Ann: She remains my favourite of the Thieves. If Ryuji is the original drive and Morgana the original method, then she is the original conviction. The strength to stand with victims. The desire to force those who hurt others to understand the feelings of said victims. She has the rawest fucking lines at the end of the Kamoshida arc. She loves Shiho so much, and I really feel like her and Joker are on the same page when it comes to things deeper than their surface level interests. Get you a friend like Ann fr. It's a shame that later scenes have her mostly just getting mad at the guys when they uhhh... act like horny guys towards her. Feels bad man, especially because I love the aspect of her character that wants to be more comfortable with her sexuality and have that be on her terms. <- That's really cool, actually! Why couldn't we do more with that...? As a note though, I seriously love her admiration towards female cartoon villains and that one mean girl model. I think that's so funny and also such a mood. I do not believe for one second that Ann is straight. I hope she becomes the sexy and confidant morally-ambiguous thief of her dreams, and also that she gets a girlfriend. It's what she deserves.

Yusuke: He's so dramatic. Do you expect me not to love him? I really loved his conflict during Madarame's arc - those revelations were absolutely brutal, and Yusuke really handled things well, all things considered. Again, like Ann, there were some raw lines in there. But then, of course, the slump on the other end, when the adrenaline wears off. That Yusuke's painting only showed the dark side of desire tells me that he is still grappling with the effects of all these reveals. He has a lot to process.

Makoto: I just think she's so cute. Her design is adorable. She's such a sweetheart. On the flip side though, while I don't find her as intimidating as the game seems to, I definitely would not want her mad at me. While, as I mentioned before, I found the lead up to her joining the thieves to be a little janky, the actual moment was great. I love that she has a support system now. She really needed that. I hope there are more scenes with her in group settings tbh. While I'm enjoying her one-on-one dynamics with Ryuji and Ann, I do feel like she doesn't really... gel with the group as well as, say, Yusuke did. I think they need to drag her out to more activities lol.

Sojiro: I still don't know yet? He seems like the tough love sort. I do enjoy getting to learn random coffee trivia from him, and it seems like he cares in a kind of gruff way. He also gets a lot of suspicious people coming by. Guess I'll find out more later.

Maruki: Again, I don't know much still. He's endearing and dorky. That salt bae thing still lives rent-free in my head. I feel his frustration with not being able to help more. I get it man. I will say though, the fact that we get to see scenes with the thieves and Maruki, with no Joker present, is... odd.

Kasumi: I... I don't know how to feel. She's too nice. She's too polite. All of her scenes are so weirdly convenient. I like her just fine, but there's something seriously off. I almost feel like she's an outlier on purpose, like she doesn't blend into the world. Unlike Maruki, who is new to Royal but blends into the story quite nicely, Kasumi really stands out, to the point it kind of feels like that was the intention. She is adorable, though, I won't deny that, and I do want her to succeed and all, I just... hm. I don't know how to feel about her.

Akechi: I could fix him (smack him upside the head). <- okay but seriously, he is so obviously suspicious, he so obviously knows about Joker, he's such a smarmy little shit. I would despise him irl, but he's absolutely the funniest character in the game right now. Everything he says has me either cackling or my jaw dropping at the fucking audacity. He's also really interesting to me. Love a character whose every line means three things rolled into one. He feels dangerous and weirdly endearing at the same time. What the hell is his problem (affectionate + derogatory).

Yoshida: YOSHIDA MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED. I love him so far. He's my favourite confidant right now. He just makes me so happy man I love him so much. Yoshida takes the hard road and he's got the conviction, but you need support from people to really turn your life around. Hey, that's kind of what the game is about, yeah?

Takemi: Oh I love her confidant so far. I don't know that she's one of my favourites, character-wise, but I was especially taken with her dedication to that medicine, and Joker's response to her saying that she doesn't suit everyone coming to her for medical help by countering her with an "it suits you". Very sweet. I'm getting close to finishing her confidant; I just need to level up charm.

Mishima: I'm almost done his confidant too! I actually enjoy Mishima's character. I feel like his downward spiral made a lot of sense, and I like that he's both helpful and made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I especially like that he's pulling himself out of that fame mentality by himself, without his heart being changed. We just gave his shadow something to think on.

Kawakami: Idk how I feel about this, but the perks are good. I'm curious about her though.

Sae: She seems dedicated to her job. Forming a confidant with her during the interrogation was something I did not expect and had me going "ohohoho". But man, some of the stuff she says to Makoto is way out of line... I'm glad she's at least aware as soon as it leaves her mouth, and I cannot imagine the constant stress and scrutiny she's under but... still. Girl. :/

Iwai: I'm going to properly start his confidant soon. He's cool. I feel like he's not nearly as scary as he makes himself out to be.

Ohya: Don't know much about her so far, but she's a disaster, and I will always enjoy a good disaster woman.

Lala: SHE'S PERFECT. I wish there was a mechanic where you could get advice from Lala-chan. She's looking out for everybody. She's good. :)

Chihaya: She told me I'm gonna die... :(

[missfortuneisblue]

"You know, life is such a fickle thing, really. You're born into the world, tiny and fragile, then suddenly you have to figure out what you have to do in life. You don't really have time to process any of your best childhood moments before responsibilities are thrown at you, especially for the few of us who grew too fast. And especially for the ones who had everything ripped away from them at the age of ten.

My parents were ripped away from me. They were my “everything”, as much I was everything to them. I was—am, actually—their legacy. I am what is left. And I don’t have many stories or details of them to talk about. They were simply acrobats trying to make a living from a shitty workplace, with shitty workers and shitty working conditions, and with an even more shitty boss for a ringleader. They were practically nobodies in this society.

And they were murdered by someone who thought their efforts to entertain weren’t good enough.

…Hehehe…

Nobodies…targeted by someone disguised as a functional member of society. And left me behind to deal with the consequences of their actions! How ffff-FUCKED is that?

As much as I hate to admit it…

I suffered. I suffered through a hellhole of emotions, survivor’s guilt, and sense of emptiness from that night for 18 years. I was diagnosed way too late, I was refused to get treatment from my boss because he had the audacity to think I was fine and “would grow out of it” so he didn’t have to waste money on ME, and not a single PERSON—other than my maternal figure—in that whole damn circus thought to ask “Hey, Alice! You doin’ good?”…

NO ONE!

NO ONE!!

…so to answer your question…I joined the Joker for a variety of reasons. For a sense of independence to quit an oppressive job, to finally feel free from my personal madhouse, to satisfy my desire of being my own person and do whatever my heart yearns…

And to give back some of the love that society has always shown me.”

— Allison Morrigan, when asked by an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist why she allied with the Joker.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

8 PM TOMORROW. LETS PARTY. I ACCIDENTALLY MURDERED THE JOKER.

by Ensorcellular_data “The Red Hood,” Bruce says. He’s itching for his phone, for the Batcomputer, for the cowl. Gordon has probably already called, damn him for thinking Gotham could survive one morning without him. “Yeah, he’s taking credit for it so I don’t spend the rest of my life getting hunted by weirdos and probably getting clowns ruined for me forever.” Dick, hair mussed from running his hands through it, stops and stares at her. “...You like clowns?” ---- Or: The Batfamily tries to have *one* Internet-free morning. Words: 1114, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Reader, Original Female Character(s), Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Tim Drake & Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Dick Grayson & Reader, Bruce Wayne & Reader, Jason Todd & Reader, Dick Grayson & Reader, Stephanie Brown & Reader, Barbara Gordon & Reader, Cassandra Cain & Reader, Tim Drake & Reader Additional Tags: POV Bruce Wayne, POV Outsider, Self-Insert, POV outsider on self insert, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Identity Reveal, Mentioned Joker (DCU), Dead Joker (DCU), mentioned as in this whole fic is about OC killing the joker. accidentally. you have been warned, Crack, Dark Crack, Batfamily Shenanigans (DCU), Batfamily-centric (DCU), Mentioned Duke Thomas, Humor, Gallows Humor, Murder, yay, murder party - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Major Original Character(s), Canon Universe, ish, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon is my Playground, Timeline What Timeline, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Canon Divergence - Under the Red Hood Arc, jason is chiller in this universe, Metahuman Reader (DCU), Reader-Insert, Metahuman original character, wayne enterprises secretary reader, what is the difference between reader and self insert. good lord., jason todd isnt in this but he haunts the narrative like the cackling ghost of christmas past, Jason Todd is So Done, News Media, Gotham City-Typical Violence (DCU), Fights, Home Invasion, (mentioned) - Freeform, No Romance, implied jason todd/reader - Freeform, If You Squint - Freeform, the batfamily has ONE internet free morning, gotham-typical clowns, Stressed Bruce Banner via https://ift.tt/RjbakSP

[dailycass-cain]

Alright, let's take a closer look at the new McFarlane Toys! Batgirl.

First off the design is "inspired" by Batgirl Vol. 2 #1's cover by Jim Calafiore not really Batgirls (as it is listed on the box). Since well Cass's Batgirls design is just different all around.

The figure is just a remold of the original McFarlane Toys Batgirl (Wave 1 "Rebirth"). The only new parts are the head, fabric cape, and the painted bat symbol chest.

So this Cass is gonna be crazy tall I believe.

Interestingly, the bio is all about her old origin with David Cain getting snubbed in favor of Lady Shiva (though why they don't call her Sandra Woosan but only mention her last name on the bio?) 🤨

Her adoption is listed here.

Curiously zero mention of Black Bat or Orphan, or leaving the mantle in '09.

So is her "HEEL" arc. 😑

The package says Batgirls, but 0 Batgirls are named save Cass. We'll probably get a Batgirls two-pack with Steph and Cass (repainted).

Amusingly most of all the figure will ship end of April and will be out in early May. Meaning McFarlane Toys gets this figure out for the character's 25th anniversary.

Final verdict?

McFarlane Toys takes the worst Batgirl design Babs got since 2011 and makes it better. It signals a rush job, but hey first female Bat to get a fabric wire cape?

My gut tells me we're gonna get a Batgirls two-pack. You don't just mention Batgirls and not lay the groundwork for Steph. I'm just surprised the reused mold was the "Rebirth" one and not "3 Jokers" Batgirl.