34 sparksChapter 16: And How It All Ends
Hey, I'm just going to end this on something a little serious; in most the versions I write, Harley and Joker are both not abusive, while they originally BOTH were.
In the Animated Series (where Harley and their relationship were created), Harley:
* Beat Joker up with a baton while he was handcuffed.
* Tried to kill Joker.
* Had to be bodily restrained from attacking him.
* Pseudo-cheated on him with Ivy and kisses Batman while still dating Joker.
* Kept trying to get Joker to have sex after he'd expressed disinterest.
And Joker:
* Pushed her out a window.
* Lied to and manipulated her.
* Abandoned/betrayed her more than once.
* Generally manhandled her.
The two expressed some moments of protectiveness and playfulness, with Joker even finding Harley funny. They had at least one argument where both yelled at and blamed the other, with Harley expressing zero fear.
They were both abusive, but Joker's abuse was almost always played for drama, while Harley's abuse was always played for laughs. Neither was okay, but Harley's behaviour keeps getting swept under the rug, while Joker is rightfully being called out.
When writing a BTAS-inspired abusive Joker/Harley dynamic, please remember that Harley was abused AND the ABUSER. Joker was the abuser AND he was ABUSED.
Joker: Ya look really stressed.
Harleen, who's covering for five different coworkers while as well dealing with a bunch of new inmates and her own slip into insanity: -high pitched laugh- It's da stress. -more stressed out giggling-
Joker: ...Okay, we're gettin' ya outta here.
Harleen: W-what?
Joker: I was gonna do dis secretly, but ya wanna help me break out?
Harleen: ...
Harley, quietly: Yes, please.
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Comments carried over from AO3 (9)
These were left on the original AO3 posting and are shown as they appeared there.
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Go Harley!!
LMAO
Dr Quinzel has been trying to get him to talk about his feelings for weeks. She is completely willing to use a joke to her advantage.
It is the most effective method when it comes to him, lol.
Awww
Most quantum physicists get stuck around dimension ELEVEN.
Joker, I mean this in the nicest way: what the heck!?!?!?!!?
Well, he is both insane and capable of perceiving the fourth wall, so who knows?
They could also give him the sweater and just tie it like a straightjacket if he starts slapping people. He'd probably think it's hilarious.
Oh, he'd definitely think it's hilarious.
💙💙💙💙💙💙
I haven't seen much real DC stuff, so good to know! This was all adorable. (This is a really good ending spot, but I think you forgot to mark the work as complete.)
I did forget, thanks for pointing it out. 😊
Oh stars, I completely forgot I added a rant to this. 😂
It's a really good and informative rant though!
Glad you liked it, then.
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