#the joker is kind of like a twisted Auguste clown so Danny is a bit like a whiteface clown tho not with the fully painted face since that

[atiyasnake]

So I never expected to be googling a lot about clowns but here we are. I got inspired to write a bit of a blurb :p

~

After Freakshow Danny had less than positive feelings about clowns, but he pushed himself to face that fear and anger and he was so glad he did. Clowns allowed laughter and fun into what could be a difficult stressful life. They did it in different ways that had been cultivated throughout history. From Jesters that would be the only ones who dare suggest the King was a fool in his own court to a Clown making the birthday kid a balloon animal. There were different sorts of clowns too, with different acts and costumes. 

Danny liked them. He respected them. He respected the commitment, art, humor, and skill that they had. Hell, Clown School was actually very difficult to get into and successfully graduate from. Painting an egg wasn’t as easy as you would think.

Danny had even met some ghosts whose profession when they were alive was being a clown. Some of them were the best of the best. Masters of their craft and he loved talking and hanging out with them. Getting to see their various shows and tricks. Even being encouraged to make some of his own. It had been freeing to be able to act goofy and fun. To let the inhuman side of being a halfa out in curious ways that enabled an act a clown would be proud to have even if he still had much to learn.

So when he moved to Gotham and learned about the Joker and the pain, sorrow, and rage that man caused all in the name of being a clown - it made Danny hate him with passion. People in Gotham were wary of clowns, they hated them. You didn't see much of merchandise for the profession. There weren't any clown employees really in Gotham. No birthday parties where a kid wanted one. No theater that would have any sort of clown-related performance. There was even a warning for passing circuses (which rarely visited) that they would be unable to show their clown act.

Any mention of a clown was met with fear, anger, and wariness. It was something that no one dared to talk about, no one wanted to talk about. 

It made Danny feel twisted inside. 

He hated the Joker. Not only for the evil and pain that he had caused in Gotham City but because he twisted something Danny loved. He had twisted it for so many people. Danny wouldn’t have any more of that, he couldn’t. 

So with permission from the ghosts of Master Clowns he had known for years and permission from Lady Gotham herself, Danny began his task. 

___________________

There were a group of children that had been kidnapped from a hospital by the Joker and his goons. With an evil smile only emphasized by the red-smeared makeup, the Joker had told them of their fate if his demands weren’t met. He laughed at how they would make wonderful decorations after his joke played out and would sure be a treat for ‘batsy’. The kids didn’t dare say a word or even a sound. It made the Joker annoyed for a bit and he didn’t let them leave until they smiled and showed that they were having fun. Only when they did, did the Joker have his goons take them away with too-tight grips and nudges with guns into their back No care for the pain or injuries they already had that were the reason they were in the hospital in the first place.  

They were shoved into an empty dirty room and left there waiting. They huddled close, cold and scared. Hurting. There were men outside and they knew it would be impossible for them to leave unless someone like Batman showed up and rescue them. 

But time crept by and no one showed up. 

Much much later as the children grew to believe that they would never leave there was suddenly a faint twinkling sound in the room.  Someone else was sitting in the room with them,  in front of their huddled forms was someone sitting with their legs crossed. 

They had tensed up and froze at the sudden appearance but there was something that kept the fear away. Which didn’t make sense to them because in front of them, in the dim light was a clown. 

Clowns in Gotham were never a good thing. It was a clown that had taken them from the safety of the hospital, men wearing those painted white faces and red noses that had shoved them into the room. Except…there was something different about the person sitting in front of them.  

This clown didn’t look anything like the Joker or the masks. There was no red nose or creepy red smeared paint in the shape of a smile, not even the dark makeup that surrounded the Joker’s eyes. Instead, this clown had a white star painted on their cheeks, the points of stars peeking out from the inner corner of their eyes while on the other side were small black-shaped stars. Other than that there was nothing else covering skin that showed warmth or eyes that were nothing like the Joker’s. 

Even the clothes were different. 

While the Joker had a vivid purple suit with green and stains that they didn’t want to think about, this clown had darker cleaner clothes that actually looked like what a clown might wear in a circus. The shirt was poofy with sleeves fitted at the wrists. The fabric was dark but sparkled and they could see star designs, it looked like the night sky.  There was a white lace ruffle fitted around their neck. There was a white fabric tied around their waist that could have been a ribbon, meanwhile, their pants were black and fitted and they wore flat shoes. Nothing at all like the Joker, especially with white hair at the top of their head instead of green.

But still, the children had to be careful. The Joker played tricks, mean ones.

 “Are you one of the Joker’s?” a small voice asked from their huddled-up group. It was Sally, a girl with cancer and a bandana covering her head. 

The clown shook their head and scrunched up their face until their eyes were closed. It was exaggerated and made it clear that they didn’t like the Joker. 

“Who are you then?” Joseph, a boy with a broken arm and a reputations for ‘falls’ despite his caution, asked. 

The clown smiled and pointed to their cheek where one of the white stars was. 

“Star?”

At that, the clown nodded enthusiastically. With the motion came the sound of twinkling like when the clown appeared. The clown smiled and tilted their head. They looked curious, pointing at themself and to the star on their cheek before pointing at the children again.  

Star wanted to know their names. 

The children looked at each other. Each of them could see the different injuries, exhaustion, and fear. But then they looked at Star who was sitting calmly with a gentle smile. Star was nothing like the Joker and so, quietly they introduced themselves. Each time Star listened closely, nodding at their names and giving each of them a little wave of hello. 

After they were finished there was a lightness in the air and a few of the children had small smiles on their faces they weren’t even aware of. They didn’t feel so scared anymore. 

Then Star looked side to side as if seeing if anyone was there before looking at them with a mischievous smile. They crooked their finger which wasn’t covered by any gloves for the children to come closer. When the children leaned forward Star pointed at them and to themself before making their fingers walk on the other hand. A question was on their face.

Star was asking if they wanted to leave. 

“You can help us leave?” Nadia asked with a bit of hope in her raspy and quiet voice.

Star nodded with a confident smile. 

The children hadn’t heard anything that showed signs of police or one of the bats showing up. Already too much time had passed. Tamara needed her medicine. Leo’s pain in his stomach was getting worse. The bandages and casts the others had in various places were getting dirty. They needed to leave but had no idea how to other than waiting for someone to come and rescue them. 

But Star showed up. 

Star stood up, much taller than them but not tall like the goons outside or the Joker. The clown offered a hand. 

One by one, the children took it using it to get up from the floor. Each of them noted how warm and reassuring the gentle but firm grip was. Then Star motioned for everyone to hold hands and if they couldn’t hold hands because of casts or any injuries, Star diligently helped them figure out how. Once everyone was linked up in some way or other Star stood up straight with beaming eyes. Looking at them proudly as if the children had done something amazing. 

Bryan was at the beginning of the chain of children and Star offered their hand to hold. There was no hesitation when Bryan took it and Star simply smiled before putting one finger to their lips in a shushing motion. 

This time, the children did not remain silent out of fear.

___________________

It had already been two days since nine children were kidnapped from the hospital and the Joker had made his demands that were due in less than three hours. There were no clues left behind in the hospital. Even Batman had yet to stop by and tell Commissioner Gordan if he had an idea of where the children were. 

Hope was dwindling down and it had started to rain. Already the lives of nine were weighing heavily on them. Commissioner Gordon was in a room with other detectives and Gotham officials arguing about what they were going to do. They were yelling when suddenly the door to the room burst open. 

An officer stood there, her eyes wide in shock. “The kids! They’re here!”

With that, there was a burst of questions from everyone else and the officer clarified. She told them that a group of children had shown up at the front desk all of a sudden. Their names and descriptions matched those of who were kidnapped.  

It was a mad rush to go and see the children with their own eyes. But it was no lie, Gordon saw them. All nine sat together as a few paramedics were checking over them along with a few officers who had some medical training as well. None of the children looked harmed. There was no sign of hidden weapons or bombs that the Joker was so fond of.  

Each of their faces matched those of the children taken, nothing was amiss. There was no trick in sight. 

Commissioner Gordan made his way around as the children were checked out. Surprisingly they were calm and showed no signs of harm other than in need of the medical treatment they were receiving at the hospital and the basic necessities of food and water

It was odd and when Batman stopped by, he had no answer for the police. Even with his stoic face, Gordon could tell that Batman didn’t know what happened either. None of the other vigilantes were involved in the sudden appearance of the children. 

But the oddest thing was that when asked, the children told the police and even Batman that it was a clown that had rescued them. 

“Honey are you sure?” someone asked a little girl named Sally. 

Sally nodded her head. “Yeah and they even gave us a sticker,” she said and pointed at the simple sparkling white star sticker she had put on her bandana. There were eight more stickers that the other children had who said the same thing. 

It was only after much haggling that one of them let Batman take a sticker to test it for anything harmful. But the results showed nothing that would cause any harm. 

It was just a regular sticker in the shape of a star.

~

@echoednonny

DP x DC Of Clowns and Professional Pride

So we all like to make it that Danny hates clowns. After the Freakshow thing and the circus related trauma, it just makes sense. But what if he didn’t?

what if, in an effort to overcome his trauma related to the circus, he decided to learn more about them. Obviously not every circus is like Circus Gothica, so maybe learning about them would help him get not associate his trauma with normal circus things.

and it works

It more than works, he actually gets super into it. He loves learning about the history and the various acts. He even gets really into clowns, the different types, the different acts, the famous clowns, and the rules around being a clown. He even applied for clown college but didn’t get in. It’s surprisingly prestigious. He even managed to meet a few of the great clowns of the past in the GZ and really learned a lot from them.

Then he moves to Gotham

He loves clowns, but he hates the Joker. He hates the Joker because he loves clowns, and the Joker is actually a really shitty clown. Danny has a love of the craft and the Joker is just bad at clowning.

So, Danny takes it upon himself to mess with the Joker the best way possible.

By stopping him while being a better clown than the joker could ever hope to be with or without his ghost powers