Fae’s top 5 recent Batjokes fics you should be reading
Please note, this list is made up of my personal opinions based on the recent fics I have been the most excited to read. This is not a 'best Batjokes fics of all time' list, so if your favorite fic is not on this list, please don’t be upset. As I was making this list, all the fics that appear on it are on the first page of the Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne A03 tag either for having just been updated or only posted recently.
Half-Way Across by DracoMaleficium
Everybody should know of this fic because fan art and fan covers appear on the Batjokes tag frequently. For good reason. This fic is amazing, expanding upon an idea presented in The Killing Joke of Bruce taking it upon himself to rehabilitate the Joker. The build up of the relationship between Bruce and Joker is phenomenal and I’m also frequently impressed by the interactions between Bruce and his family- particularly a very touching moment between Bruce and Dick in one of the latest chapters. I think my personal favorite thing about Half-Way Across is the pacing. Nothing in this fic feels like it’s taking too long or is happening too fast. It just flows naturally, making it a very easy fic to pick up and put down while you wait for more. If you haven’t been reading it already, go for it.
Somewhere Between Love and Abuse by saremina
I haven’t seen this fic talked about on the Batjokes tag at all, which is why I want to talk about it now. This fic is fantastic, it takes a concept that some Batjokes writers have done before-Bruce dating the Joker whilst trying to hide the fact that he is Batman- and then runs away with it. I enjoy how the fic shows us the progression of the relationship between Bruce and Joker as well as the struggles- particularly when broaching the subject of Batman and Harley. There are several genuinely happy moments between Bruce and Joker as well as times in the relationship where I just want somebody -probably Alfred- to smack them both for being chuckleheads. The fic updates frequently enough for my personal satisfaction, but never feels too rushed for an update- and in my opinion it is much better to wait for a quality update than to nag for fast updates. Every chapter has something worthwhile happen in it and always leaves me wanting more. Go check it out!
The Letter M by j-not-joker-not-jack-just-j
This is literally the newest fic on this list, having only been posted a day ago but it definitely caught my interest. Since it’s still a bit early to judge the fic’s pacing or the how well written the relationship is I am basing my opinion solely on the premise of the fic- which is a ghost love story. I love this idea so much- and the promise of both angst and fluff has me on the edge of my seat for more. I am so excited for the potential of this fic- I would like to give a personal shout out for everyone to support the author as much as you can by reading it.
The Horror of Our Love by Erebus_And_Nyx
Like the Letter M, this is still a really new fic so judging the quality of pacing and the dynamics of the relationship is near impossible to do at this point, but I have faith in it. The idea behind the fic is a simple one- what if Batman saved Jack Napier from falling into the chemicals and becoming the Joker? It’s a concept that has gone through the minds of every Batjokes writer before and even already has a few fics written about it- but one of the things I love about this idea is that there are so many things that can be done with it and I can’t wait to see what direction the author decides to go with it.
I admit, I actually first clicked on this one by mistake but I have no regrets about it. The author states right in the tags that they’re bad at summaries and tagging, which is why I have to stress that you shouldn’t judge this fic by either of those. This fic dives right to the plot and has very good characterization and writing. It’s tagged as a slow-burn fic so I’m counting on the build up of the Batjokes relationship to just as good as the characterization. I’ve been excited to see a new update every time so far, I highly recommend reading it.
annaxmalina
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theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
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