LISTEN. I will not be silenced. I may not have a lot of canon interactions on my side but if the dork squad, scriddler, Jon and Harley being friends, allllllll can happen then SO CAN THIS.
Cringe is dead and I am free.
Okay I think first Joker needs more depth and likeā legitimate character development which is easily fixed by using my joker. His name is Bailey and he is a mess. Which is perfect because Jon in every iteration is also a mess!
Also yapping with equally deluded friends who also see my vision, if yāall are reading this? Youāre great. Thank you for supporting my delusions of grandeur. Theyāre the real inspiration out there.
Joker LOVES nicknames. His most intimate one is Melpomene. Though usually heāll just call him Jonny or haystack.
Jon? Hates it most of the time, though he does tolerate Melpomene. Sometimes even calls the other Thalia.
Eventually Bailey gets Jon to call him Thalia and appreciate being called Melpomene. Eventually both of them associate the name with the other so completely thatās their other name.
Jon is terrible at self care letās be so real guys. This man hasnāt brushed his hair in decades. Which is even worse when he has long hair (cough cough imagine him with long hair coUGH). Joker taking the time to sit Jonās ass down, and actually pampering this man??? Just a moment of them being quiet, Bailey focused on undoing tangles and knots without hurting Jon. The clown prince of crime actually just, still and focused for once in his life.
And Jon, the man who has never known real affection?? Actually being treated gently??? As if he too is human and fragile???
Then his hair is brushed. It may not be smooth and silky, but itās healthy. Thatās what matters.
Just an hour or two in the quiet, occasionally chit-chat via Jon complaining before he decides hey this isnāt so bad. He will never admit out loud that he enjoys it but he doesnāt have to admit it. Clowns are excellent at reading people.
It is well known Joker in any version will never shut up. This is true with Bailey.
Verbal affection is CONSTANT. Pet names, nicknames, I love you, etc etc, constantly said.
And then Jon, who has never experienced any of that.
Absolute batjokes too. Laughter and dread.
THEYāRE BOTH INHUMAN TOO??
Immortal husbands. Evil husbands.
Okay back to human Scarejokes.
Bailey keeps his civilian identity under lock and key to the point even Batman doesnāt know who joker is.
But Jonathan finds out first.
Jonathan finds out before Batman.
He knows who the Joker is, and that information can be trusted with him or lead to a complete breakdown. Bailey being forced to face his ultimate fear, having no mask to return to.
Joker finding out The Scarecrow is doctor Jonathan Crane, of Arkham asylum. Holding that mask in his hands and staring down with big green eyes.
SMILEX. FEAR TOXIN. LAUGHTER AND TERROR.
Imagine it. Take my inky hands and imagine it. Them working together to combine their drugs.
Of course this works better when Jonathanās motives are to cure fear instead of sadistic infliction.
Cure their terror, replace it with laughter that never ends.
Them making each other worse because theyāre severely mentally unstable.
( context: Bailey as Joker actually doesnāt kill people at first. No no he doesnāt want death and destruction because ā a corpse canāt laughā. Ofc that ideal is destroyed by the plot and horrors.)
Jonathan seeing Bailey, the joker afraid. Afraid of the fact he has taken a life and is FREAKING OUT.
The angst, the strange comfort. The toxicity.
Jonathan seeing the masks worn by Joker, and wanting to tear each one off until the true man underneath is revealed.
Them seeing each otherās scars. Joker kissing those scars.
Jon tracing those scars. Tracing them, knowing most are from Batman.
The one sided obsession joker has. Jonathan watching, wondering who would be chosen when it comes down to it.
The angst potential. The jealousy. The fact that Bailey ( at least him) doesnāt constantly want to chase Batman but still does. ( something something metaphor for addiction).
Guys. Imagine the possibilities. The potential.
The scarejokes tag is so barren I saw a tumbleweed.
