Harleen walked into the building, her heels clicking against the hard ground as she pushed her glasses further back on her nose. She scanned her badge, the door to her office opening slowly. She sighed as she saw the stack of papers that lay on her desk, sitting her bags down toward the end of her desk. She took a seat in her chair, shuffling through the rather large stack of papers. Several new people had been assigned to her, an she was eager to see if her request of taking on the man known as "The Joker" had been accepted. Upon seeing the mans beautiful, flawless seeing face upon her stack of papers, she was given an intense feeling of joy. It was strange, she had never been this overjoyed over a case. Perhaps she could do what no man nor woman had ever been able to do before; fix him.
Her door swung open, taking her by surprise. It was no other than her boss leaning against her door frame. He took a few steps toward her, leaning over her desk and looking her straight in the eye. The man had been enticed by her since day one, and quite frankly, it made Harleen quite uncomfortable. Cleaning his voice before he spoke, he gazed down at the paper she had been eyeballing. "I see that you've already found whom I've assigned to you. I'll tell you now, it's quite a task, even our most renowned psychologists haven't been able to crack this egg." leaning even further, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered to her. "But I believe that you... Could be the key here, steal his heart, I'm sure he won't be the first man to change for you." he said, pulling back. "Thank you.. Sir." she told him before he nodded, giving her a wink before leaving.
God, the man gave her the creeps. If he wasn't so pushy with his flirting, perhaps it wouldn't leave such a sour taste in her mouth. Luckily, she hadn't told her boyfriend about the mans advances yet, Matthew was the overly jealous type, and had a hard time keeping his mouth shut in certain situations. This was one of them. Grabbing the papers off her desk, she shoved them in a filing folder and threw them in her bag. It was the start of the day and she was ready to cut to the chase. The Joker was waiting for her, and she wasn't wasting any time. Aside from that, the man was a known escape artist, which meant she had very little time to persuade him to stay... To listen to her, at least.
The first room she always took all her patients to, the padded room. She didn't know the man, she didn't know what he was capable of, and part of that scared her. However, her classes had taught her to never be scared of the people she was treating. For that only built a wall between them, and their trust. Making a few phone calls, she requested that the joker be brought to her "Bring him to me, lock the door from the outside. You know the drill, you can stand outside the door, but I can not allow you inside.". This caused a bit of surprise from the security, but who were they to argue with her wishes? She wasn't one to provoke, therefor, she had no reason to worry about the man harming her, or did she?
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: Nervous yet somewhat excited.
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
Tap. Tap. Tap. The sounds of the jokers nails tapping against the frame of his bed echoed through the room. In fact they had been for at least the previous hour. The room was dull and quiet. There were only so many bars you could count or invisible voices to talk to before one grew bored. Tap. Tap. Tap. J could visibly see the annoyance of the guard whom was sitting at a table just outside his cell drinking a mug of something warm. Tap. Tap. Tap. He merely looked up at the criminal in a concerned manner. Did the tapping mean something? Was it a code? What was he planning? J realised that this was perhaps the reason he was very rarely unrestrained. Everyone was wary of him, and this gave him the ego boost to merely continue messing with them.
Tap. Tap. Tap. He continued, sitting completely still, looking at the guard directly in the eye. They had been alone in the room all night, and he had been growing ever so uncomfortable, especially when J had taken the time to watch him consistently refusing point blank to sleep. Tap. Tap. Tap. Came the sound. It was sharp on metal, ominous almost. J was pleased to see the male visibly shaking; too scared when alone to shut him up. Which of course, in reality he could do easily as the Joker was weaker physically than he may appear to be, and in the depths of a prison named Asylum it was annoyingly difficult to find a pair of body guards to fight for him. The Joker chuckled softly retreating to the back of the caged room where he glanced out of the small barred window. He couldn't see anything through the fog outside and thus concluded that it was a nice day. Perfect time for an escape don't you think.
The thing was, Arkham wasn't an Asylum as they put it. Sure they gave you drugs that knocked you on your a** and asked personal questions about everything from your sisters wedding day to your sex life but once you were admitted, it was very rare for you to be released. Arkham was a prison, though it was surprisingly easy to escape from. The Joker was still debating whether he was ready to release himself. It wasn't anything he hadn't done before, but as always he had a flair for the dramatics. If he was going to make his grand escape he would need aid from someone, someone on the outside. He wasn't allowed to speak with other inmates. The question was... who? He already had a person in mind, a naive little shrink whom he had sent a little gift to on her first visit asking her to come and have a little chat. She had kept the little black rose as long as he was aware, though she had been more confrontational about it- alerting the staff to up his 'protection' which thus gave him 24/7 surveillance. Fantastic.
Soon there was a call on the phone in the room, and the security guard got up quickly to answer it. J looked up curiously, wondering what was being said. It was sad to say that this little phone call was probably going to be his only entertainment for the day. When the security guard placed down the phone, he went straight to the cabinet in the corner that contained all sorts of restraining devices, but pulled out a large white straight jacket that J was all too familiar with. It even had his name on it, which he though was kinda sweet. A doctor entered the room accompanied with another guard at that point. The doctor was the usual creep that would sit and talk with J, the one that would ask him all these weird questions. The Joker would usually be silent, occasionally he would laugh, but he wouldn't talk unless to gloat about his achievements. The Doctor looked at him. He knew he wouldn't respond but he spoke anyway. "You've been put under the care of a different doctor," He told him in a firm tone of voice. "If not only because I think you don't like me very much," He said sarcastically, which J thought was a little childish. This doctor pissed him off, he was to casual and he didn't like it. J didn't move as the guards came in and forced him into a straight jacket. He didn't fight, only went limp to make the task just that slightly bit difficult without being scolded for being a pain in the a**.
Eventually the male got to his feet, bored of the men trying to drag him. He walked slowly, the shackles around his ankles preventing him from walking too fast. To an ordinary person this would seem like a walk of shame, the Joker saw it as a triumph even if he didn't quite realise why. He was mad and they knew it. Insane! Chaos! J watched through the various doors in the Asylum, equip with their various devices for 'curing' patients, though few of them weren't medieval enough for the Joker to have come up with himself.
Eventually the patrol arrived outside the padded room, where the Joker had spent his first few weeks 'adjusting'. He could remember vividly looking at himself being watched by his enemy through the glass, and thinking to himself 'I'm just so lucky to have him!'. The door was opened abruptly and one guard brought him inside and sat him down at a table. He looked at the floor as he entered, wanting to appear as though he were in a state of dishevel, past the point of no return if you like especially since the Joker was known for his class... well he'd like to think that. He was also bare foot and his clothing was torn from when he, as usual, got bored. Naturally they 'didn't have the funding' to provide him with a spare set of shapeless trousers. As he looked down the first thing he noticed were a pair of feet encased in some pretty black heeled shoes. It was then that the male smiled: full of confidence that it was her. His smile dropped before he spoke. "Hello" He said simply in a hushed tone, knowing full well that someone would be watching them. Even the Joker wasn't smiling, and that was kind of his trademark. Though he often did this, destroyed expectations when he met people, it made things more interesting especially when they're expecting a psychopath.
Out Of Cadavers - I have never written a post that long before xD I'm sure it's a one off sweatdrop// also sorry for double quoting! I changed the gif :3 // and triple quoting because i'm an idiot and the gif failed *facepalm* Plus I also saw a typo - which I then couldn't find in edit *sighs* xD
Harleen took a deep breath as she heard the guards outside the door of the room, her little delivery was on the way. It almost surprised her how eager they were to get rid of him, and just how quickly they were able to transport him. Perhaps the man hadn't been in the mood to put up a fight today.
Looking up from the papers in front of her, she smiled as she watched the security officers bring her new patient into the room. At first, it almost seemed as if he was.. Shy? No... Definitely not shy.. "Hello." she responded, rather coyly as she pushed her glasses back a bit on her nose. She had billions of questions to ask the man, but all of them were a bit too brash. She shuffled through the papers that the previous shrink had given her, shaking her head. The information was of no use to her, there was nothing meaningful here.. She knew she could get more out of him, perhaps if she only tried. After all, what more could she really do?
All the questions she had for the man before her continued to swirl around in her mind. One, however, preceded all the others. What had been his reasoning for giving her the rose that he had given her the first time they had spoken? This was something she often pondered, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was already in too deep on this case. Clearing her throat, she set aside the papers that were in front of her and simply stared at the man in front of her for a good moment. What made him tick? There was a reason for everything, which meant there had to of been a cause for his madness. Perhaps childhood memories? She would try to begin there as soon as she felt comfortable.
Giving the Joker a light smirk, Harleen chuckled a bit before beginning to speak. "The silence is eerie. I'm sure this isn't something you're used to being asked, but I feel it's appropriate. How are you feeling today?" She asked, a little unsure that the question was appropriate from the get-go. How else was she suppose to start this off, though? She needed him to open up to her, and to do that she had to treat him like any other human being.
OOC: It's been a few months since I've RP'd so I apologize it's not very good, or very long. I'm very unsure of how to start this all but once we get the ball rolling I'll be A-OK. Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: Nervous yet somewhat excited.
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
The padded room was as dull as ever, which he had concluded was the point of it. And he'd given it a lot of thought, and though he didn't know the answer as to why the room was white, he gave it his best guess.Maybe the colour of the room had to be bland so that it didn't induce any kind of negative reaction out of a patient so colours couldn't be bright. Therefore, the room was white. And white was such a dull colour. Or shade, if you were well informed. Perhaps they only sold the padding in white? Maybe he could put in a request for a green and purple themed room? Just for him!
At the response of his doctor, the green haired male glanced upwards. There was no doubt about it, that even without looking at her face he knew it was her, and that was exciting to him. She was new, young, and therefore naive. It wouldn't take much to convince her that he didn't need to be restrained during their meetings, and he could cosy up to her, give her the charm, get her to do whatever it was that he wanted. Though security around him had tightened, escape was always possible. He just needed a little help from a friend. J's lips, which were tinged a stark red in contrast to his ghostly porcelain skin, curled upwards into a sly smirk as his thoughts raced about possible escape techniques.
The Joker loved the adrenaline of crime, and escape from Arkham was always more exhilarating the more times he did it. It kept the people around him on edge and even when he was locked up, he still had more power than any of them. Even though he was essentially powerless. They wondered if he had any tricks up his sleeve, when his sleeves were tied behind his back. He was like a bomb, and they were waiting for him to go off again. Of course, 1x1 therapy sessions with Dr. Blonde weren't high on his hit list. If she asked some interesting questions, he may be persuaded to humour her a little.
Quinzel's opening question, though mundane, was something that the Joker had not been asked in many years. Not since his wife was alive. Though the Joker was now something other than human, there was something about the memory of his late wife and unborn child that still hurt him. It was their death that had caused all of this, and he was torn between being grateful that they died, and yearning for what might have been. The Joker sighed audibly, sinking down in his chair. "Bored," He proclaimed calmly. "Do you think I could get a Netflix subscription?" J asked tilting his head to the side. He knew that his answer did not specifically answer her question, but what else was he to say? Excited, I'm planning my escape, and you're my biggest pawn.
Out Of Cadavers - I had to go and re-read his backstory lmao xD I need to get back into it :3
Harleen chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was always so worried about her physical appearance. Being popular in both High School and College was probably responsible for this. What a jokester, the man had definitely earned his name in more ways than one. "Netflix? I didn't take you as the type that liked to Netflix and chill. I was thinking perhaps Hulu." she attempted to joke back, giving him a playful wink. She wasn't even bothered that he hadn't particularly answered her question, after all, that wasn't what truly mattered.
Clearing her throat, she shook her head. "Back to the serious stuff, Quinn." she scolded herself. "So, what is the problem? Why are you here?" She asked, pausing for a moment as her breathing hitched. Not the question nor the answers she wanted. She pulled her glasses off of her face, setting them aside and looking her her found patient in the eyes. "Let me rephrase that, why do you think you're here, Mr. J." She didn't want to know why they had thrown him in this god-forsaken place, she already knew he was a wanted criminal, a mastermind. She wanted to know his thoughts, the things that went through his head. She was completely and totally aware of the fact that he was going to try to toy with her emotions, her well-being. That was the main reason so many criminal shrinks had turned his case away. They couldn't handle him. Harleen wasn't even sure she herself could, but she was willing to give it her all. It was, after all, what she had been working toward through her entire duration of college.
"Tell me a bit more about the man in front of me. The basics. The information I've been given is of no use to me. I want to hear these things from you. How old are you? What are things that make you angry? What about happy? Tell me anything you can trust me with. I want to know it all." In a sense, she sounded desperate. At this point though, she was just digging for anything, she needed a starting point and knew the only way she was going to get anywhere was to follow her gut.
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: "I need to start somewhere."
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
J laughed at her joke, though his laugh could never be considered playful. It was always the same throaty laugh that would frighten a child if they heard it. It wasn’t a particularly funny joke, though he would play along all the same. “Whatever you think best Doctor,” He responded with a slow shrug. As he glanced at her face, he subconsciously came to notice just how attractive she was. Her perfect, natural blonde hair which cascaded over her dainty shoulders made him weak. Psycho or not, he could still experience attraction- whether he realised it or not.
J raised an eyebrow—or the skin where his eyebrows would be had he got any-- at her first question. Why was he here? Because he got caught, and he hadn’t planned his capture this time, hence why he was taking so long to escape. Usually it was all thought out, and his men would be ready to bust him out within a week of his incarceration. Alas this time he was alone with no contact with the outside world. Except through his doctors. He knew that Harleen would have been warned countlessly about how ‘dangerous’ he was, and to start with she would be on her guard. He had to be careful."Oo Mr, J, I like that," He smirked. The Joker nodded as she rephrased her question. “You want to know why I think I’m here?” He rolled his neck around, cracking the bones one after another. “I think we all know why I’m here,” J smiled up at her, though his gaze was slightly angry, the smile did not reach his eyes.
Quinzel moved on quickly however, to a topic she clearly felt was more pressing than J’s current feelings. “That’s a lot of things you want to know,” He commented, sitting up in his chair. “You know I’d feel a lot better about answering them if I wasn’t tied up like a caged animal you know?” He frowned dramatically wriggling his arms around in the restraints. They probably wouldn’t let him out, but he could try couldn’t he? He knew something he could tell her, and it would hopefully get him an interesting response. He leaned forward over the table, standing slightly in his chair until his face was next to hers. “I’m dead,” He whispered, with a short bout of laughter, before returning back to his seat and eyeing her curiously. It was true, he was legally dead- well his former self. They'd never found the body- shame.
"You think we all know why you're here?" She asked as she too quirked a brow. "Pretend, that I don't know anything about you. Pretend, you're not in isolation and that I'm just another intake. What would you tell me you were here for?" she continued. Now, she was pushing it a little. As he commented on the name she had given him, she smiled shyly. "They hadn't really listed a name.. Other than Jack, and how can I even be so sure about that one?" Harleen really didn't trust the work of other psychiatrists. She was better than them, after all that was what she had aimed for her entire life. Most of the Joker's "Life story" as you would call it had been pieced together by various different shrinks, and that just wasn't something she felt she couldn't use to her advantage, or trust for that matter. The man was a known liar, full of tricks. She knew she too, would have to be wary of the things he said to her.
"It is a lot of things, correct." she said as she pulled the stack of papers in front of her, flipping through them until she had found one that made her gasp, dropping the rest of the pages on the floor. Quickly, she turned the piece back over and placed it on the side of the table once more. She couldn't be bothered with picking the other pieces up just yet, but would certainly get to it later. Although none of the information would be something she could use to her advantage, that didn't mean she wouldn't have fun pawing through it all later on in the evening.
Listening closely as she peered up at him, she smirked at his request. Harleen was far from dumb, but.. She didn't feel as if the man had any intentions of hurting her. She refused to heed the warnings, she would just have to find things out for herself. "I've seen people get out of them before, don't take me for a fool, J." The man had been thrown in here more times than she could count on her fingers, she knew that he could get out of a simple Straitjacket. He could play dumb all he liked, she knew he was far from it. "Take it off, J." She urged him with a smirk, almost as if she was certain he wouldn't harm her once free.
Harleen's breathing ceased as Joker stood, his face only an inch away from hers as he spoke. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin, and it gave her goosebumps all the way up and down her arms. She squinted for a moment, thinking about what he had told her. "Aren't we all?" she asked, knowing her response would be something that he probably hadn't expected to come from her. There was some sort of immediate chemistry between the two beings, Quinzel just refused to acknowledge it.. For now, anyways. "What is death to you, J?"
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: "Nervous & attracted."
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
The Joker liked pretending, he was childish in that way. When he was a child, he would run around with water pistols, pretending they were real guns, now he got to play with real guns, pretending they were water pistols. However, he didn’t like being told when to pretend, and right now his situation was very real. Regardless, something made him want to play her little game. This was a tactic he’d never seen before, and he thought he had seen them all. “Short answer,” He began, speaking in a tone that would be considered condescending, as though he were speaking to a child. “I was naughty, I did bad things, and I got told off,” J smiled at her. “And they think I was a bad boy because there’s something wrong with my head, and so that leaves you, and me, alone, in this room, taking the time out of our very busy days to talk about how I’m feeling,” He leaned back in his chair, taking a minute to stretch out his limbs as best he could. The more he moved, the more he could sense the agitation coming from the guards outside the room. “Jack, is made up. My name is not Jack,” He shook his head, returning to his usual tone of voice. He could give her some information, make her feel as though she was being useful. It would be very helpful to him if she did.
J watched her closely as she flicked through the files, and a small smile formed on his face unknowingly when she rejoiced as she found a particular file, and then dropped the rest on the floor. It was kind of endearing. J didn’t particularly care if he wore the jacket or not, he just wanted to see how far she was willing to go to earn his trust. Her response was intriguing. Was she expecting him to try and escape? He tilted his head and glanced at her as she told him to ‘Take it off’. He smirked. “You saw, magicians, it’s fake, and I’m no Houdini” J lied curtly. Whilst he wasn’t Houdini, given a few minutes he could escape from his bonds. But the guards had taken special care to keep him locked up, and he didn’t want to annoy them. Taking off the straight jacket would merely mean added security and more restraints which would only make any future attempt at escape much more difficult, and he was no fool. He was always a move or two ahead of everyone else, even when in a psychiatric hospital. “I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to unlock it for me,”
After J sat down once again, it was a few moments before Harleen responded. Once again, her response was unexpected, yet thought out, perhaps to confuse him in this manner. Who was this woman? Couldn’t she just be a good girl and meet his expectations so he could go back to silently plotting escape and counting ceiling tiles in the comfort of his own cell? But alas, she had caught his attention. Whether that was good or bad, the future would tell. Her question caught him off guard, though he consented to give her adjectives like she desired. “Death... is exhilarating,” His eyes widened, and he took in one deep breath through his nose as though he could smell home cooked food and it was heavenly. They were bordering on his favourite hobby, he could hardly contain his desire, and she might not want to go there if she knew what his real thoughts were. She probably wanted him to say 'sad' or something along those lines. “It’s power and control,” He said simply, looking her in the eye. “It’s amusing to watch you all, frantically trying to find a dead man,” He was giving her the clue over and over again. The Name she wanted. His name, was dead. He had died seven years ago when he was twenty-five. Hell, he could barely even remember it. It was all Batman’s fault. And for that he would get his revenge. One day, when the time was right.
Harleen cocked her head to the side slightly as she listened to the Joker's condescending tone. Had anyone else spoken to her in such a tone she would have been anything but polite in return, but for whatever reason Harleen was certain she was getting somewhere. As he finished her lips curled into a smirk "Bad boys get time outs, and that's what this is J. I could sit here and waste all the time in the world trying to change you myself. But...." she paused for the better half of a minute, biting on the tip of the pen that she had picked up from the side of the table. "People only change on their own accord... Right, J?" She wasn't interested in changing him.. Not yet, anyways. She wanted to be his outlet, the person he confided in first.
Quinzel rolled her eyes as she listened to the Jokers explanation. Typical, truly. Half of her had suspected it from the get-go. After all, the man didn't trust her just yet, but who could really blame him. All of that would change, soon, Harleen was sure of it. "Play your games for now..." she told him with a smirk before standing and walking over to the door, tapping lightly on the window to get the attention of the USO's. Hushed tones filled the room as she requested that the straitjacket be removed immediately. "I don't think you realize who you're dealing with Harls..." One of them whispered. Shaking her head she sauntered back to her seat, crossing one leg over the other. "I said, immediately." she snapped. The two USO's simply looked at each other before shrugging and doing as they were told, unlocking the jacket in a timely manner, but not completely taking it off. Harleen waved them off before standing once more. "Promise you'll be a good boy?" she told him with a smirk as she completed the job of taking the jacket completely off, setting it across the table for whenever it would be needed again. Just outside the door, the USO's were having a conversation about how the new shrink had an apparent death wish. Ha, little did they know.
She listened closely to his response to her very atypical question. "Is there anything else that is equally exhilarating to you or perhaps even more exciting?" she asked, squinting her eyes as she was deep in thought. Sex, drugs, most things that were frowned upon were the usual answer to this question in particular, but knowing the Joker, he had something more peculiar in mind. Meanwhile, he was certainly hinting at something, and his hints were anything but subtle. His old persona.. Was dead? In his place, was the Joker. A man presumed dead, was far from it. She believed she was somewhat beginning to understand what he was saying. Harleen was anything but air headed, she just liked people to think she was. She couldn't find the right words to respond with, so she simply quirked a brow. "I'm sure it is amusing to you. What I'm sure is even more amusing to you is that you know said dead man will never be found. Because he's sitting right in front of me." She was hoping that her accusations were correct, the last thing she wanted to do was make herself sound daft. "So did you fake your own death because you felt it would be... comical, or did you just want that part of you dead?" she asked. It wasn't uncommon for people to feel as if they needed to start a new.
It was then that Harleen gasped, here she was, asking all these questions and she hadn't even done something as mundane as introduce herself. Although it felt all too overdue, she felt it was still appropriate to at least give the man a bit of insight on whom he was speaking with. "For your records, J. My name is Harleen Quinzel, and I am the newest psychiatrist in the building. I am also.. Your new psychiatrist. I felt as if we should at least be on first name basis. Although we're not here to learn about me, if you ever feel the need to ask me a question about myself, or even answer the questions I ask you in return, don't hesitate."
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: "Nervous & attracted."
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
It was evident that there were multiple reasons why he was a patient here and not a criminal in jail. The shrink could go on and on about how he needed to change and function in society, but the Joker just didn’t see how that was possible. Could she really imagine him being integrated back into society, becoming a homeowner once again, a father, a husband to a wife with whom he would have to lie to for the rest of their lives. Perhaps he could even get a dog and take it for little walks around the park. He could tell his child stories of how he used to kill people, and how he revelled in it. No, his days of caring about so called ‘family’ were over. Loving other people made you weak, and so the Joker made sure he was completely isolated. He had destroyed his family, left his child for dead- though the boy was still alive- and he refused to resort back to being something so mundane and ordinary. The Joker watched her carefully as she spoke. “Isn’t that your job- to change me?” He asked calmly a small smile on his face. Why would he give up the one thing that made him truly happy just so a psychiatrist could put a tick in a box and say he was cured? “Right” He answered crisply, not particularly bothered about continuing on the topic of ‘change’. He could see what she was attempting to do, he would not fall for it.
It seemed she was aware of a certain skill set of his, though he hadn’t demonstrated it to her before. He watched her curiously, his brow furrowing slightly. What concerned him about her, was that she seemed to actually care. She didn’t seem keen to finish their chat and have him carted away to a cell as per his usual schedule no, Quinzel wanted to cure him, she actually wanted him to talk. The psychiatrist did know his track record didn’t she? He was here at Arkham because there was nowhere else that would have him. And by claiming he was mad, they could move him off the radar, make him disappear. “Don’t you want to play with me?” J asked with a smirk on his face. He watched as she stood and walked towards the door. It was adorable when she went all authoritative on the guards, the little mouse standing up to the adult cats. Nevertheless, they listened and removed his jacket, which was probably a silly move. He may not be as strong as the Batman, but he had survived many a fight with the gent. However, J wasn’t planning anything that day. He needed to earn trust, and fighting off a few guards and a psychiatrist was not a safe way to go about it.
The guards entered swiftly hoisting him to his feet so that they could remove the jacket. He rolled his eyes as they manhandled him, trying to assert their dominance he assumed. This was particularly amusing since they were only doing this because a little blonde lady, half their size, had told them too. He stayed standing as the psychiatrist stood, and walked towards him. “I promise I will, I’m a man of my word,” He assured her before she took the straight jacket away from him. As she neared, he noticed that she smelled nice, fresh. Perhaps that was him merely recognising a scent that wasn’t the smell of the Asylum. He had been here for so many months, that it was beginning to smell like home. It was a distinct possibility that the guards were more concerned that he hadn’t yet escaped, for normally he only stayed for a few weeks. He did nothing if keep them on edge. The Joker took a seat again, folding his arms in front of him as he did so. Underneath his straight jacket, was his toned chest which was covered in a variety of strange tattoo’s. He liked to be ironic with his image, and the large ‘Joker’ tattoo that covered his belly merely enhanced the idea of lunacy in which he promoted himself. What kind of self-absorbed freak would get his own nickname permanently etched on his stomach? The Joker. He played up to the examples the media made of him, which is why he was such an iconic… ‘villain’ if you like. The tattoo on his forehead, which read the word damaged, was a quote from the first news article published about him- with which he was extremely proud.
The Joker comprehended her question, and took a minute to think before responding. These questions were bothering him, and he needed to cause a distraction. “You,” He purred, leaning forward slightly. He was very obviously flirting with her, in an attempt to move the topic away from his desires. Her next statements were particularly intriguing. She was beginning to understand what he had been saying. Whilst that was good, he couldn’t let her find out who he was. He had to maintain his mystique otherwise he would just be another good for nothing criminal. J liked being an enigma, it was exciting. “I did not fake my death,” He explained. “What happened to me… I should have died, but I did not.” J was secretly really enjoying himself. He made direct eye contact as he spoke. “I burned, and when the burning stopped I… was a different person,” He spoke with flair, as though he were telling a ghost story to a child. He spoke of both a physical and metaphorical burning, yet no fire had been involved. His life before the ‘accident’ he had once considered to be perfect, besides the constant fear of being thrown out onto the streets. He had once believed, that family was all he needed. He scoffed aloud, at how foolish he had once been.
The Joker’s eyes widened as she finally revealed her name. Normally he knew these things, but he hadn’t cared to find out. Out of nowhere seemingly, the Joker burst into a fit of laughter, where he smiled up at Harley with humour in his eyes. “My my that is Ironic,” He chuckled. “That sounds like Harlequin, if you ah… change it up a bit!” After a few moments, the Joker wiped the tear that had fallen from his eye from laughing so much. He was really beginning to enjoy Miss Quinn’s company, and already looked forward to their next meeting. Perhaps she wouldn’t be as useless as he thought...
"My job is anything you make it, J. I can't make you change, that's all up to you at the end of the day." It only made sense. To her, anyways. At the end of the day the decision was ultimately his. "Did you think I was just going to be able to sit here, ask a few questions, get it all figured out and magically snap my fingers and it would all be fixed? No one else has been able to do so. Not even the most renown shrinks.. You're.. Special." She told him with a smirk. "Whether you choose to believe me or not, that's all up to you. Personally, I wouldn't trust myself either." she told him, deciding it would probably be best to move on from the subject rather than drag it on for much longer. J knew what she meant, and that was all that mattered.
Cheeky, indefinitely. That's what the USO's were there for in the first place, to do as they were told. In her book, they were just the bottom of the chain. They did all the dirty work so she didn't have to mess with it, or, was it technically the other way around? "I thought that's what we were doing, J? Having a little play date." At least, that's how he was treating it. She didn't seem to mind too much though. "I could sit here with you all night and berate you, I have these men.." she told him as she pointed just outside the small window that was on the door. "I have them at my disposal. If I so wished, you and I could stay here all night together and "play" however, I'm not sure just how productive that would be." she admitted.
Harleen drew in a deep breath, her cheeks turning a bright red upon hearing the word "You.." In response to her question. Definitely not what she had expected. "Believe me J, I'm half as exhilarating as 90% of the women you spend your time around.." the man was used to being with criminals, and never the same criminal for long. Had he ever even had a relationship before? Had he always been.. Like this? She shook her head, hoping all those questions would leave her head if she brushed them off.
Listened to Joker's story was a bit hard on her, she was having a hard time comprehending what he was even saying. He looked far from charred, the man was handsome, and he knew it. Perhaps he was speaking about a different kind of burning... Perhaps. "And.. Are you happy with the person that you ended up being? Or do you feel that you were happier as the person you once were?" she asked, her questions seemingly getting deeper and deeper. The man he once was, was dead, and seemingly all of Gotham truly believed it. He could of had a family, friends.. All left behind when something.. Changed him.
"Ironic... How?" she asked as she cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Hmm.. You're right. It does." That was something that had. thought her few short years on this world, had never been mentioned to her before. In fact, aside from "Harls." she had never even really been given a nickname, and part of her liked it. Another part of her knew she, in her right mind would have been uncomfortable with receiving a nickname from a criminally insane person, but for whatever reason she.. Didn't seem to mind it. "So now feels like the appropriate time to ask... How.. and why.. Did that rose end up in my office a short while ago?" she was flattered in a sense, really. However, at the same time, she was curious enough to ask.
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: "Nervous & attracted."
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
The Joker wasn’t used to Psychiatrists being so blunt with him before. Perhaps they simply just didn’t care? Maybe Harley was being so thorough because she wanted the prestige of ‘the woman who cured the Joker’. However, she seemed to think that the only way he was going to get ‘fixed’ was if he did it himself. Didn’t that make her role in all of this slightly… pointless? He merely watched her explain things, like the doctor she was, with a wide grin on his face. She spoke to him in a way he hadn’t been spoken to in a long time- like a human being- and though he didn’t care to admit it, he was enjoying himself. “Trust… it’s never real,” He commented in a pessimistic manner. It was true, one very small thing could fracture the trust between two people, and it was always irreparable.
The Joker smiled at her. “Your little men are scared,” He commented glancing at her with an expression of curiosity. “Why aren’t you?” She was an odd one. A vulnerable woman had let a murderer and psychopath loose in a room alone with her. He could kill her in multiple different ways before those men of hers had even opened the doors. He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. “I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to sit with me all night, I’m bored, and you’re very entertaining,” J spoke as though what he was saying was a compliment- and it was in a strange sort of way. Most people were dull – but she wanted to play whether she let herself admit it or not. “It might not be productive, but it sure would be fun!” He frowned in approval, nodding his head.
The Joker furrowed his brow, though a small smirk remained on his face. She was more interesting than all of them put together. They didn’t want to play- they wanted profit, money. It was always about money. Well Harley was getting paid to be here- but that was government money- something he didn’t particularly mind spending. And he hoped that she was in it for something a little more than the cash. “Oh really now?” He asked rhetorically raising his head. She was very… intriguing. How ‘exhilarating’ she was would be revealed over time. “I find that difficult to believe, I bet you’re wild when you take off that old white coat” He could be quite the charmer when he put whatever remained of his heart and soul to it. Of course his definition of flirting wasn’t quite the same as your average shmuck.
The Joker could sense her confusion, if not only because she kept asking questions. He could tell she was truly intrigued for her tone of voice dropped and became more… serious? It made him smile regardless, chuckling at the latest thing she wanted to pry from his mind. “Happy is a strong word, I was content, but I was poor, and I was bored” The green haired male explained, dulling down the details to a great extent. “Strength, and power. Now they are happy words. That is what my new life gave me- albeit with a few physical deformities. I was given a second chance, but alas I confess I am not content. And I won’t be, not for a long time,” He leaned back in his chair, resting his hands in his lap. “Are you happy? Miss Quinzel,” He spoke her name slowly, and the word almost slithered off his tongue.
“Well, I’m the Joker, and you’re the Harlequin, like the clown,” He looked up at her, a devilish smirk appearing on her face. “What a team we’ll make,” J assumed she would believe he meant strictly as Dr/ Patient, but no- he needed her help to escape. He would wait a while, until they were properly acquainted before he, asked her for a little favour. This gave him time to plan- what was he going to ask for? It would have to be dramatic! That was a must! “You could shorten it, and go by Harley Quinn,” He announced. “I like that, Harley Quinn,” He repeated, shouting the name out loud for all to hear.
Harley was quick to move the topic forward. Ahh the Rose, it had been nearly a week since he had snuck out and placed that pretty, black Rose in her office. He smiled “You got my gift? I worried you thought it was from someone else, like your Doctor friend, the one with the stash,” He put his finger under his nose replicating a moustache. He had been watching, and knew that the man was very forward in his affections towards her. Towards the Joker, he was not so nice, and he was slightly relieved that he no longer had to deal with that tiresome man, as Quinzel was now his doctor. Perhaps J had been trying to convince her to take his case by sending the rose, or maybe he was trying to win her affections, or perhaps he was merely trying to frighten her. He chuckled. “I put it there,” The Joker had no problem in slipping throughout the Asylum at night, the guards were useless. The one thing he couldn’t get past were the alarms, which would alert everyone to his escape and he wouldn’t get very far once out, it wasn’t worth the risk without a proper plan. “It was a… welcoming gift,” He told her, though he himself wasn’t quite sure if that was true or not.
"Trust.. Can be real.. It's just easily broken. Once broken, it's near impossible to re-kindle that bond. Not everyone's the same though, Some people are a little more wary than others when it comes to trust. Depends on how many times they've been burned..." Her statement led off... And soon she found herself in deep thought. Thinking about all the times she had been burned herself. Her family was broken beyond repair, and she had to hope that behind his cell that her father was proud of her. Perhaps she'd give him a visit and let him know about her exciting new venture. Seemingly, the man had seemed more interested in her life back when she was abusing substances and breaking laws back in high school, but that part of her was dead and gone as far as she was concerned, and she refused to follow in her con-man fathers footsteps. She wanted to help people who reminded her of her father.. That was all she wanted, to help. Unfortunately, her so called "daddy issues" were bound to get in the way if she wasn't able to cut off all of her emotions as well.
"Why aren't I scared?" she repeated his question back to him. It was a good question, one that she couldn't come up with an answer for right away. "Typically, people hurt others because they've hurt them in one way or another.. Perhaps you don't frighten me because well... Aside from not having a whole lot to live for, I've done nothing to hurt you.. I can't foresee myself ever trying to hurt you.. Actually..." but part of her statement was untrue, normal human beings hurt others because they had previously been hurt, the Joker was uncertain.. He was a loaded gun, ready to go off any second. For whatever reason though, Harleen refused to believe it. To her, until he proved otherwise, the Joker was just as any other person she came across on the streets.
"Depends on what you mean by wild." she told him, dragging out the last word of her sentence. Harleen used to be wild, and had she continued down that road she might've been just as much of a criminal as her father. Regardless of whatever she did though, she couldn't change the fact that there was still a bit of criminal in her blood. All she could do was fight it. Even then, Harleen was intrigued with the older man in such a way that she had never experienced, and although she wouldn't admit it, it almost took her breath away. "Perhaps if around the right people, I could be just as wild as you're insinuating." she admitted. For now though, her life was drab, and lacked meaning. Even in her long term relationship with Matthew, things were just... Boring. She was hoping that her new job would give her just that, meaning.
"There's not a whole lot wrong with being poor..." she told him, if she was being honest she grew up poor as well. With her mother being the bread winner, and her father working for mere pennies in jail, she didn't grow up having a lot. "So...You were content in your past life and you gave that up.. For what?" she asked him, still squinting slightly. "What would make you content, in this life..J? I know that might be somewhat of a hard question for you to answer, or maybe it's simple.. But it's.. Important." Now.. On to his question, it seemed as if he was trying to twist things around on her. She'd give him what he wanted, for now. "Happiness is temporary... I wish I could tell you that I was happy, or that I even know what happiness feels like but I don't. I'm alive, and I'm successful, so that should make me happy right?" the woman truly didn't even know what love felt like. She settled, every time, because she felt she deserved no better.
"Ah. A great team, indeed." She couldn't help but wonder how her life would have been had she continued down the trail of self-destruction that her parents had began. She had only wanted their attention.. Perhaps she'd be in the same spot as her current patient, and perhaps that wouldn't be so bad.. At least then, she'd get some recognition. "Harley... You know, you're the first person who'd ever given me a nickname other than Harls.." she admitted.
As soon as J mentioned a Doctor, Harleen rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh, praying to god he wasn't standing right outside the door listening to this all. "I had high hopes, black roses really aren't that man's style.." she told him with a somewhat disgusted face. That man made her so disgustingly uncomfortable with his advances, it nearly made her gag just thinking about him. "It seems as if you know more of what's going on here than even I do.." she said with a chuckle. She knew the man was smart, but aside from being smart he was extremely observant as well. "Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it, so thank you. Even if you had to break the rules for you act of.. Kindness." For whatever reason, Harleen had always enjoyed the peculiar things in life. "Maybe I'll have to bring you a thank you gift during our next meeting.." she giggled.
Lσνєя: Matthew Reed Ƭнσυgнтѕ;ƑєєƖιηgѕ: "Conflicted."
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the natural order and everything becomes c h a o s.
The Joker could see sense in what she was trying to say to him, it was true in many senses. J didn’t believe in placing his hopes in another person, they were fickle and could be easily convinced to turn against you if the right words were spoken, except when he needed to escape from a correctional institution in the middle of an island. The problem with the Joker now, was that he was so notorious for simply murdering his allies so that he didn’t have to share the profit, that hardly anyone was willing to trust him. That was fine by him. There was always some poor sap who he could get to do his dirty work regardless of what he himself did. There was always someone more desperate than he was.
Though she wasn’t scared perhaps, not to that extent anyway, her wariness was evident and that was amusing to him. She wanted to appear strong, and in control. And he would allow that. Something told him he wanted her to like him, which was a strange feeling. He nodded at her statement. “In the real world dear someone always has to make the first move,” her answer had been typical of a shrink, over analytical. “Well I am glad that I’m safe, I was concerned,” The joker smiled, speaking in a sarcastic tone of voice. She didn’t particularly intimidate him, though knowing the powers she had as his Doctor whilst he was here could be intimidating if he so much as cared. He knew their tricks, nothing he hadn’t seen before. He only had to hold out until he could escape.
“Have you ever done something, just to feel the wind rush through your hair and the adrenaline pump through your veins?” The Joker laughed, a short yet sweet cackle escaping his lips. She was right in a sense, who you were with often influenced your choices, though they couldn’t change who you were as a person. “Perhaps, you and I, should go out sometime,” He spoke as though he were chatting her up or something. He wouldn’t be opposed to a night out with his Psychiatrist, hell it might be fun to corrupt something so beautiful. And then, make her his. "I'd give you my phone number, but you already know where I am,"
The Joker was poor, in fact the whole reason for the escapade which caused his death was so he could make money to feed his family. They were going to be thrown out onto the streets, which weren’t always safe. He shook his head in what could be seen as distress or annoyance, hitting his head twice with the palm of his hand, almost as though he were physically trying to dispel these thoughts. His family had meant a lot to him, and though now he was a completely different person, his subconscious mind could never relieve him of the… guilt. The Joker, knew exactly what could make him happy, he’d known it for years, though he was dragging out the execution. “What would make me content hmm,” He smirked, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. “Well of course, my freedom, to begin with and then, after his life has been destroyed- whoever he is- what would make me completely content, would be the Batman’s head, mounted on my wall,” The last three words he extended, placing emphasis on each of them as he spoke. He already had a spot on his wall picked out. He eyed her curiously. “Same question, what would make you happy?” He asked tilting his head to the side as he waited for an answer.
The Joker thought that the fact her name was unusually similar to the Harlequin would be pretty obvious, but then again most people were stupid nowadays. He smiled at her, glad that he’d mentioned it. “Do you like it?” He asked almost hopefully. He was slightly taken aback that previous doctors hadn’t asked his own name before, assuming his name was merely jack. If he wanted to be a ‘Jack’ he would have gone by a different playing card. “I make it my business to know, It’s dull otherwise,” He sighed as she continued. “You are welcome,”. He smiled at her final statement. “I look forward to it, whenever that may be,”
Out Of Cadavers - I didn't have time to proof read sweatdrop
