[ He was off his rocker, which wasn't out of character. Joker had been clinically insane when she met him, it had been her job then her passion to rehabilitate him. She'd wanted to make him well enough to set him free. But in a way he had set her free.
Sure that came with abuse, unprescribed shock therapy, threats, constant intimidation.... ok when she really thought about it, it sounded like shit. But there had been decent times. Of course, she had to acknowledge from a strictly logical point of view that she was not mentally healthy now either, so her recollection was probably skewed. Nuttier than a fruitcake.
But she was fun! ]
Wait...hold up..stop the presses.. Oh I've always wanted to say that.. but seriously. Hero name? You're a hero?
[ Forgive her if she just falls, cross-legged to the ground, tacos cradled lovingly and safe in her arms of course, and looks thoroughly confused.
That one is gonna take her a second to recoup. Hero...maybe..ok maybe that alternate universe things has an alternate meaning for hero. Yeah! She could wrap her brain around that. OK She took the bag in her teeth and straightened into a bend and a walk over on her hands, feet touching down light enough to be silent.
Harley crooked her finger over her shoulder and took the lead into the old, decrepit but homey remains of the fun house. The strong scent of rust, decay and must was thick but this close to the docks it was to be expected. There was a decent enough picnic table set up that she wisely left leaned against the wall to avoid the rats and bats and birds leaving presents. ]
Weeellll... I tried to be a hero. I kinda... messed up. Okay, I ~really~ messed up, but in my defense, there is no way three or four home made bombs should exploded the whole GCPD. That's just poor building maintenance!
[ His eyes follow everywhere she moves, hardly blinking. It's a primal unflinching draw, like a moth to flame. When he follows her lead it's quite comfortably, as though he's used to walking nicely in her shadow like a heeling pet.
Upon instruction, he affirms with a quick and eager nod and a blistering grin. He pops over to the picnic table and begins unloading the goods, setting everything down somehow chaotically and carefully at the same time. He doesn't wait for Harley to do anything-- in fact, he sets up everything for her. ]
There we go-- sorry there's no dessert forks or wet naps. We're really roughing it! [ Sometimes John actually seems genuinely friendly, but his excessive, jarring laughter still ruins the effect. He climbs somewhat awkwardly onto his seat at the table, but cracks Harley's take out container open first, before touching his own.
Clearly, someone had him very well trained. ]
SO!~ [ he scoops up a soft shelled taco and starts puzzling proper bite trajectory] What else do ya wanna know?
I guess I tried to be something else too. It worked about as well.
[ Harley shrugged and took a seat when the table came down. Whoever this John Doe was, he was not her Joker. First off, he was nice, he actually did things. She had expected him to tell her to get the table herself, but he'd really done it. He'd brought food, and not just any food, food she really liked. Aside from Sal's egg sandwiches when she needed a pick me up, tacos were about the best thing in the world.
And then there was the thing where he opened things for her, he... he was acting like taking care of her...no..no that wasn't right at all.
For years before she was Harley Quinn she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a bright up and comer in criminal psychology. She'd been one of those people that got name-dropped for having a bright future. That didn't all just go away with a few thousand volts to the noggin and a swim in a chemical vat. Her brains were still rattling around in the old noodle somewhere, she just had to turn them on again.
She hated doing it because that meant seeing herself again and seeing how fucked up she was now. Ignorance of that really was very much bliss. But whatever was going on with John Doe here needed to be looked at so, she studied him with the part of her brain that sat huddled up in the corner hiding most of the time.
He wasn't just being helpful, he was attending. He was deferring. He was...subservient. And happily so. Joker had neer been like that. He had his moments sure, he liked a good time as much as the next guy but he was always in charge. This one, no he was the loyal dog who got beat into thinking those beatings were affection.
Oh jesus, he was the way she used to be. ]
Hey, you don't gotta do all that for me. I mean, thank you, I appreciate that ya did. But, so ya know, you don't have to.
This looks great! I hardly know where to start!
[ But that didn't last long as her bright red lips stick smeared with a mouthful of double meat and bean goodness and a long string of cheese chased it as she pulled it back from her mouth. She giggled and wound it in like a piece of spaghetti. ]
Tell me about your Harley.
[ She spoke slightly muffled with a half mouthful of food and immediately went in for another bite. ]
Sure, sure-- but let me do you one better! I've got pictures!
[ He shoves the second half of a carne asada taco into his (almost frightfully wide) mouth and dries his hands on a handful of criminally tiny napkins before fishing into his sleek black dress-pants for his phone. The case is closer to fuschia than purple, struck through with a single green stripe.
He hums happily, tapping his foot and bouncing in place as he scrolls through his expansive gallery. A good stalker takes many, many photos! ]
Lemme see... oh, nope, that's... that's Batman... that's... Dr. Leland, and... Ah-Ha! Here we go! Check it out!
[ Very proudly, John presents his phone with one of his favorite ever images on screen. ]
It's all of us! The Whole gang! Pretty cool, right?
[ Her assessment of John is absolutely correct; though he did still become some mutant variant of The Joker, though that darkness still stalks too close to the surface, there is also another side of him. A side that his Harley Quinn and his Bruce Wayne both twisted to their own devices, and made real in doing so. ]
[ Harley munched while he finished his taco in a Megalodon bite. He had a strange frenetic energy to him that she could sort of see from her Puddin, maybe if she turned upside down, squinted, and had a few drinks. There were traits about him that were there, it was just so different. ]
Friends with a Doctor?
[ She made a note of that but leaned in to look at...whoa....she looked severe. There was definitely something not right with that woman, which made sense if it was her. The body language of the picture said a lot, John desperate to be cared for among friends, his Harley possessive and commanding, his friends lording over him with tolerance but not appreciation. Except the one man. He seemed to have a sincere emotional expression. ]
Who are the rest of your friends?
[ She patted down her pockets to find her phone, the Hello Kitty case was slightly mutilated and had teeth marks. They weren't human teeth marks but, well, sometimes Bruce liked to nibble.
She thumbed through her gallery, which was a blur of bright images until she found what she was looking for. She showed him the picture. ]
[ The Joker is definitely there, lurking, if not quite fully present. There are advantages to John's persona-- he's disarming, he makes people lower their guard or underestimate the clown. He's useful, even to the darker side of his personality; that's part of why he exists at all. ]
Yup! Dr. Leland-- she's pretty great! Not as great as Dr. Quinzel obviously, but still. I needed at least one staff member looking out for my best interests after you quit... [ Case in point; his last statement is rather deliberately composed, suggesting with an unspoken cunning that in Arkham, of course it's wise to keep a staff member on your side or under your thumb. Record scratch, and he's back to that Way Too Eager grin, watching Harley observe his screen. ]
Other than You and Me, The Blue Guy is Freeze and the Luchador is Bane. The stupidly sexy guy is Bruce Wayne.
[ His gaze jumps to Harley's phone and his grin intensifies with a delighted burst of ringing chuckles. ]
Oh man-- still handsome as heck! What I wouldn't give to swap places with that licorice!
[ He was simmering, there was more to him than appeared, and she wasn't so sure about those parts that she couldn't see. The viscera of his personality that was all blood and guts under there could be teeth. ]
Things didn't work out so well for me when the Joker here got close to me. Or I got close to him. It went bad. [ No reason to get into that, she kept those cards to herself for now. ]
[ But she checked out the other guys, trying to see if they rang a bell with her. But she was coming up short. Freeze? Bane...well that one maybe sounded a little familiar. Something about chemicals, maybe in another country? But if he was there maybe he was here too, it made sense. Maybe the world of whack jobs and freaks was bigger than she or Mister J ever thought. ]
Oh, Bruce is cute in any universe, huh? Yeah, that's why my lil baby is named for him. Gotta call him something as handsome as he is.
[ She chuckled a little nervously to his joke abut the licorice. Should she be worried about her Brucie? ]
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Sure that came with abuse, unprescribed shock therapy, threats, constant intimidation.... ok when she really thought about it, it sounded like shit. But there had been decent times. Of course, she had to acknowledge from a strictly logical point of view that she was not mentally healthy now either, so her recollection was probably skewed. Nuttier than a fruitcake.
But she was fun! ]
Wait...hold up..stop the presses.. Oh I've always wanted to say that.. but seriously. Hero name? You're a hero?
[ Forgive her if she just falls, cross-legged to the ground, tacos cradled lovingly and safe in her arms of course, and looks thoroughly confused.
That one is gonna take her a second to recoup. Hero...maybe..ok maybe that alternate universe things has an alternate meaning for hero. Yeah! She could wrap her brain around that. OK She took the bag in her teeth and straightened into a bend and a walk over on her hands, feet touching down light enough to be silent.
Harley crooked her finger over her shoulder and took the lead into the old, decrepit but homey remains of the fun house. The strong scent of rust, decay and must was thick but this close to the docks it was to be expected. There was a decent enough picnic table set up that she wisely left leaned against the wall to avoid the rats and bats and birds leaving presents. ]
Pull that down, will ya?
no subject
[ His eyes follow everywhere she moves, hardly blinking. It's a primal unflinching draw, like a moth to flame. When he follows her lead it's quite comfortably, as though he's used to walking nicely in her shadow like a heeling pet.
Upon instruction, he affirms with a quick and eager nod and a blistering grin. He pops over to the picnic table and begins unloading the goods, setting everything down somehow chaotically and carefully at the same time. He doesn't wait for Harley to do anything-- in fact, he sets up everything for her. ]
There we go-- sorry there's no dessert forks or wet naps. We're really roughing it! [ Sometimes John actually seems genuinely friendly, but his excessive, jarring laughter still ruins the effect. He climbs somewhat awkwardly onto his seat at the table, but cracks Harley's take out container open first, before touching his own.
Clearly, someone had him very well trained. ]
SO!~ [ he scoops up a soft shelled taco and starts puzzling proper bite trajectory] What else do ya wanna know?
no subject
[ Harley shrugged and took a seat when the table came down. Whoever this John Doe was, he was not her Joker. First off, he was nice, he actually did things. She had expected him to tell her to get the table herself, but he'd really done it. He'd brought food, and not just any food, food she really liked. Aside from Sal's egg sandwiches when she needed a pick me up, tacos were about the best thing in the world.
And then there was the thing where he opened things for her, he... he was acting like taking care of her...no..no that wasn't right at all.
For years before she was Harley Quinn she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a bright up and comer in criminal psychology. She'd been one of those people that got name-dropped for having a bright future. That didn't all just go away with a few thousand volts to the noggin and a swim in a chemical vat. Her brains were still rattling around in the old noodle somewhere, she just had to turn them on again.
She hated doing it because that meant seeing herself again and seeing how fucked up she was now. Ignorance of that really was very much bliss. But whatever was going on with John Doe here needed to be looked at so, she studied him with the part of her brain that sat huddled up in the corner hiding most of the time.
He wasn't just being helpful, he was attending. He was deferring. He was...subservient. And happily so. Joker had neer been like that. He had his moments sure, he liked a good time as much as the next guy but he was always in charge. This one, no he was the loyal dog who got beat into thinking those beatings were affection.
Oh jesus, he was the way she used to be. ]
Hey, you don't gotta do all that for me. I mean, thank you, I appreciate that ya did. But, so ya know, you don't have to.
This looks great! I hardly know where to start!
[ But that didn't last long as her bright red lips stick smeared with a mouthful of double meat and bean goodness and a long string of cheese chased it as she pulled it back from her mouth. She giggled and wound it in like a piece of spaghetti. ]
Tell me about your Harley.
[ She spoke slightly muffled with a half mouthful of food and immediately went in for another bite. ]
no subject
[ He shoves the second half of a carne asada taco into his (almost frightfully wide) mouth and dries his hands on a handful of criminally tiny napkins before fishing into his sleek black dress-pants for his phone. The case is closer to fuschia than purple, struck through with a single green stripe.
He hums happily, tapping his foot and bouncing in place as he scrolls through his expansive gallery. A good stalker takes many, many photos! ]
Lemme see... oh, nope, that's... that's Batman... that's... Dr. Leland, and... Ah-Ha! Here we go! Check it out!
[ Very proudly, John presents his phone with one of his favorite ever images on screen. ]
It's all of us! The Whole gang! Pretty cool, right?
[ Her assessment of John is absolutely correct; though he did still become some mutant variant of The Joker, though that darkness still stalks too close to the surface, there is also another side of him. A side that his Harley Quinn and his Bruce Wayne both twisted to their own devices, and made real in doing so. ]
no subject
Friends with a Doctor?
[ She made a note of that but leaned in to look at...whoa....she looked severe. There was definitely something not right with that woman, which made sense if it was her. The body language of the picture said a lot, John desperate to be cared for among friends, his Harley possessive and commanding, his friends lording over him with tolerance but not appreciation. Except the one man. He seemed to have a sincere emotional expression. ]
Who are the rest of your friends?
[ She patted down her pockets to find her phone, the Hello Kitty case was slightly mutilated and had teeth marks. They weren't human teeth marks but, well, sometimes Bruce liked to nibble.
She thumbed through her gallery, which was a blur of bright images until she found what she was looking for. She showed him the picture. ]
That's Bruce. Ain't he a cutie?
no subject
Yup! Dr. Leland-- she's pretty great! Not as great as Dr. Quinzel obviously, but still. I needed at least one staff member looking out for my best interests after you quit... [ Case in point; his last statement is rather deliberately composed, suggesting with an unspoken cunning that in Arkham, of course it's wise to keep a staff member on your side or under your thumb. Record scratch, and he's back to that Way Too Eager grin, watching Harley observe his screen. ]
Other than You and Me, The Blue Guy is Freeze and the Luchador is Bane. The stupidly sexy guy is Bruce Wayne.
[ His gaze jumps to Harley's phone and his grin intensifies with a delighted burst of ringing chuckles. ]
Oh man-- still handsome as heck! What I wouldn't give to swap places with that licorice!
no subject
Things didn't work out so well for me when the Joker here got close to me. Or I got close to him. It went bad. [ No reason to get into that, she kept those cards to herself for now. ]
[ But she checked out the other guys, trying to see if they rang a bell with her. But she was coming up short. Freeze? Bane...well that one maybe sounded a little familiar. Something about chemicals, maybe in another country? But if he was there maybe he was here too, it made sense. Maybe the world of whack jobs and freaks was bigger than she or Mister J ever thought. ]
Oh, Bruce is cute in any universe, huh? Yeah, that's why my lil baby is named for him. Gotta call him something as handsome as he is.
[ She chuckled a little nervously to his joke abut the licorice. Should she be worried about her Brucie? ]