The Park - Sunday Morning
It was a nice morning and Harvey decided to go for a short walk in the park. He was headed towards the playground, flipping his coin as he walked.
The Joker The Joker had been following Harvey quietly ever since he left the dorms. Truth be told, he had been watching Harvey all weekend. Harvey's goodness fascinated and disgusted him. Putting up those stupid campaign posters everywhere and being so nice and cheerful to everybody. The Joker knew the truth. He could see what was really going on in dear little Harvey's head, even if the golden boy himself couldn't see it yet.
The Joker waited until Harvey had flipped the coin high to make his move, coming up behind him to catch it in midair.
"Hi there."
Harvey
If the sudden appearance of someone with him in the park didn't surprise Harvey, the fact that the stranger was wearing clown makeup certainly did. Harvey didn't like clowns. They were creepy.
"Hi," Harvey said, his eyes trailing down to the clown's hand. His hands were itching to get his coin back.
The Joker The Joker smiled and started flipping the coin up in the air, his eyes watching the movement rather than Harvey.
"Nice nice out for a walk isn't it, Harvey?" The Joker caught the coin and looked up at the blonde. "You are Harvey Dent, correct?"
Harvey
"Yes, I am," Harvey said, naturally wondering how this guy knew his name. It was obvious to him now though that the clown had been following him. "And you are?"
The Joker
"A friend," the Joker said. He started flipping the coin again, and walked over to the swing set. He sat down on a swing, still flipping the coin as he started swaying back and forth. "A friend who wants to help you."
Harvey
Since the Joker still had his coin, Harvey had no choice but to follow the clown towards the swing set. He really wanted nothing more to get his coin and go but somehow he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"Help me out with what?" Harvey asked. He made an attempt to catch the coin the next time the Joker flipped it and missed.
The Joker
The Joker chuckled at Harvey's attempt to get back the coin and flipped it with more amusement now just to annoy him. "See, I've been watching you, Harv. Not for long, but long enough to realize that you're in trouble. Big, big trouble."
"You see, you have all these rules and codes. You live your life the same boring way everyday, trying control your world and everything in it," the Joker said, finishing the sentence by licking the sides of his mouth, as was his habit. "Life wasn't meant to be controlled, Harv. It's supposed to be spontaneous. No plans. No rules. You try to scheme and plot and one day somebody is going to throw a wrench in the gears and take you down."
Harvey
"Somebody meaning you?" Harvey asked with amusement.
The Joker
A wide (well, wider) grin spread across the Joker's face. "Maybe. But even if I wasn't there to put a wrench in the gears, somebody else would be. It's the way of the world. You can't trust anybody, Harvey. Somebody will always be there with a knife to stick your back."
Harvey
"That's not true," Harvey said, shaking his head. "There are good people in the world."
The Joker
"I suppose you think you're one of them," the Joker said, stopping the coin flipping in order to make his words more clear. He licked his lips again. "Tell me, where do you stand on forgiveness? Say, somebody temporarily loses their halo. Do you forgive them for their moment of weakness?"
Harvey
Harvey wouldn't, and he knew it. Why should he forgive? People who broke the rules deserved to be punished. There were always ways to scrape by without breaking the law. A voice in his head told him that those thoughts weren't exactly the ones of a good man.
Good men are forgiving. You aren't. What does that make you?
No, no! He was good. Anybody could see that.
"Give me my coin," Harvey demanded, holding out his hand.
The Joker
"No," the Joker said, flipping the coin again. "I'm not done having my fun with you yet."
Harvey
This time Harvey was able to catch the coin.
"You're crazy," Harvey said before turning to leave.
The Joker
"Oh, poor choice of words, Harvey-boy," the Joker gritted out. He bolted from the swing set, taking a knife out of his pocket with one swift movement. In a flash he was tackling Harvey down onto the ground.
The Joker flipped Harvey over easily, and straddled the other man before putting the knife up to his throat. "I am not crazy. I'm not."
Harvey
Harvey lay perfectly still, not wanting to give the clown a reason to slit his throat. "Okay, okay. You're not crazy."
The Joker
"Oh I'm not beeeeeeeeelieving you Harvey," the Joker said. He licked his lips again. "Say, do you wanna know how I got these scars?"
He didn't wait for Harvey to answer. "You see, I was a weak little kid growing up. Skinny, poor diet, pale. We were poor growing up, could never afford the best of anything. So, naturally, I wasn't always the happiest kid in the schoolyard. A couple of bullys took notice of this and terrorized me. Beat me up. Called me names. And one day they took the bullying too far. You see, one day, they backed me into the corner of a classroom and held a knife to my mouth like this--"
The Joker grabbed Harvey's jaw with one hand and forced the knife into his mouth with other, keeping the blade by the corner of Harvey's mouth. "And they kept on asking me 'Why so serious?' 'Hmm? Why so serious?' 'Why don't we put a smile on that face?' Then...they held me down...and did this to my face."
The Joker took a second to move his face from side to side so Harvey could see his scars before smiling down at him again. "Now I'm not serious. Now I'm always smiling!"
Harvey
Harvey was absolutely terrified. He was afraid to move, for fear of the blade cutting open his mouth, and he was afraid to look away from the Joker, for fear of angering him. He just stared up at the psycho with wide eyes and tried desperately to think of a way to get out of this.
The Joker
The Joker pressed the blade a little harder against Harvey's mouth. "Tell me, Harv, why so serious?"
He leaned his head back and laughed. He thought that was terribly funny for some reason.
Harvey
Harvey saw the Joker's laughing as his chance to escape. Quickly he put all his weight into pushing the Joker off of him, whipping back his own head in order to avoid being cut with the knife. He didn't even take the risk of getting revenge on the psychotic clown; he just pushed himself off the ground and tried to make a run for it.
The Joker
The Joker was quicker than he looked and recovered from the shock of his fall before Harvey could even get up from the ground. As soon as he saw Harvey try to make a run for it, he leaped forward and jammed his knife into Harvey's leg, laughing as he did it.
Harvey
"FUCK!" Harvey screamed as he felt the knife sink into his leg. Luckily adrenaline kicked in and he wasn't in nearly as much pain as he should have been. He turned around and kicked the Joker in the face as hard as he could.
The Joker
The Joker had been expecting retaliation but he still couldn't move in time to avoid getting his nose crushed by Harvey's foot. The force of the kick caused the Joker to fall back, taking the knife with him.
Harvey
Harvey took his chance at escaping and ran away as fast as he could, trying to keep his weight off his left leg. He didn't even bother looking back at the clown as he ran off towards the dorms.
The Joker
Knowing that Harvey was gone for good, the Joker took his time pulling himself up off the ground. He was giggling as he did so even though the pain from his broken nose was tremendous. He picked up his knife off the ground and wiped the blood off onto his pants.
"You haven't seen the last of me, Harvey-boy," the Joker said, looking in the direction of the dorms. "I promise."
[Pre-played with...myself. The post is open for one in particular]
The Joker The Joker had been following Harvey quietly ever since he left the dorms. Truth be told, he had been watching Harvey all weekend. Harvey's goodness fascinated and disgusted him. Putting up those stupid campaign posters everywhere and being so nice and cheerful to everybody. The Joker knew the truth. He could see what was really going on in dear little Harvey's head, even if the golden boy himself couldn't see it yet.
The Joker waited until Harvey had flipped the coin high to make his move, coming up behind him to catch it in midair.
"Hi there."
Harvey
If the sudden appearance of someone with him in the park didn't surprise Harvey, the fact that the stranger was wearing clown makeup certainly did. Harvey didn't like clowns. They were creepy.
"Hi," Harvey said, his eyes trailing down to the clown's hand. His hands were itching to get his coin back.
The Joker The Joker smiled and started flipping the coin up in the air, his eyes watching the movement rather than Harvey.
"Nice nice out for a walk isn't it, Harvey?" The Joker caught the coin and looked up at the blonde. "You are Harvey Dent, correct?"
Harvey
"Yes, I am," Harvey said, naturally wondering how this guy knew his name. It was obvious to him now though that the clown had been following him. "And you are?"
The Joker
"A friend," the Joker said. He started flipping the coin again, and walked over to the swing set. He sat down on a swing, still flipping the coin as he started swaying back and forth. "A friend who wants to help you."
Harvey
Since the Joker still had his coin, Harvey had no choice but to follow the clown towards the swing set. He really wanted nothing more to get his coin and go but somehow he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"Help me out with what?" Harvey asked. He made an attempt to catch the coin the next time the Joker flipped it and missed.
The Joker
The Joker chuckled at Harvey's attempt to get back the coin and flipped it with more amusement now just to annoy him. "See, I've been watching you, Harv. Not for long, but long enough to realize that you're in trouble. Big, big trouble."
"You see, you have all these rules and codes. You live your life the same boring way everyday, trying control your world and everything in it," the Joker said, finishing the sentence by licking the sides of his mouth, as was his habit. "Life wasn't meant to be controlled, Harv. It's supposed to be spontaneous. No plans. No rules. You try to scheme and plot and one day somebody is going to throw a wrench in the gears and take you down."
Harvey
"Somebody meaning you?" Harvey asked with amusement.
The Joker
A wide (well, wider) grin spread across the Joker's face. "Maybe. But even if I wasn't there to put a wrench in the gears, somebody else would be. It's the way of the world. You can't trust anybody, Harvey. Somebody will always be there with a knife to stick your back."
Harvey
"That's not true," Harvey said, shaking his head. "There are good people in the world."
The Joker
"I suppose you think you're one of them," the Joker said, stopping the coin flipping in order to make his words more clear. He licked his lips again. "Tell me, where do you stand on forgiveness? Say, somebody temporarily loses their halo. Do you forgive them for their moment of weakness?"
Harvey
Harvey wouldn't, and he knew it. Why should he forgive? People who broke the rules deserved to be punished. There were always ways to scrape by without breaking the law. A voice in his head told him that those thoughts weren't exactly the ones of a good man.
Good men are forgiving. You aren't. What does that make you?
No, no! He was good. Anybody could see that.
"Give me my coin," Harvey demanded, holding out his hand.
The Joker
"No," the Joker said, flipping the coin again. "I'm not done having my fun with you yet."
Harvey
This time Harvey was able to catch the coin.
"You're crazy," Harvey said before turning to leave.
The Joker
"Oh, poor choice of words, Harvey-boy," the Joker gritted out. He bolted from the swing set, taking a knife out of his pocket with one swift movement. In a flash he was tackling Harvey down onto the ground.
The Joker flipped Harvey over easily, and straddled the other man before putting the knife up to his throat. "I am not crazy. I'm not."
Harvey
Harvey lay perfectly still, not wanting to give the clown a reason to slit his throat. "Okay, okay. You're not crazy."
The Joker
"Oh I'm not beeeeeeeeelieving you Harvey," the Joker said. He licked his lips again. "Say, do you wanna know how I got these scars?"
He didn't wait for Harvey to answer. "You see, I was a weak little kid growing up. Skinny, poor diet, pale. We were poor growing up, could never afford the best of anything. So, naturally, I wasn't always the happiest kid in the schoolyard. A couple of bullys took notice of this and terrorized me. Beat me up. Called me names. And one day they took the bullying too far. You see, one day, they backed me into the corner of a classroom and held a knife to my mouth like this--"
The Joker grabbed Harvey's jaw with one hand and forced the knife into his mouth with other, keeping the blade by the corner of Harvey's mouth. "And they kept on asking me 'Why so serious?' 'Hmm? Why so serious?' 'Why don't we put a smile on that face?' Then...they held me down...and did this to my face."
The Joker took a second to move his face from side to side so Harvey could see his scars before smiling down at him again. "Now I'm not serious. Now I'm always smiling!"
Harvey
Harvey was absolutely terrified. He was afraid to move, for fear of the blade cutting open his mouth, and he was afraid to look away from the Joker, for fear of angering him. He just stared up at the psycho with wide eyes and tried desperately to think of a way to get out of this.
The Joker
The Joker pressed the blade a little harder against Harvey's mouth. "Tell me, Harv, why so serious?"
He leaned his head back and laughed. He thought that was terribly funny for some reason.
Harvey
Harvey saw the Joker's laughing as his chance to escape. Quickly he put all his weight into pushing the Joker off of him, whipping back his own head in order to avoid being cut with the knife. He didn't even take the risk of getting revenge on the psychotic clown; he just pushed himself off the ground and tried to make a run for it.
The Joker
The Joker was quicker than he looked and recovered from the shock of his fall before Harvey could even get up from the ground. As soon as he saw Harvey try to make a run for it, he leaped forward and jammed his knife into Harvey's leg, laughing as he did it.
Harvey
"FUCK!" Harvey screamed as he felt the knife sink into his leg. Luckily adrenaline kicked in and he wasn't in nearly as much pain as he should have been. He turned around and kicked the Joker in the face as hard as he could.
The Joker
The Joker had been expecting retaliation but he still couldn't move in time to avoid getting his nose crushed by Harvey's foot. The force of the kick caused the Joker to fall back, taking the knife with him.
Harvey
Harvey took his chance at escaping and ran away as fast as he could, trying to keep his weight off his left leg. He didn't even bother looking back at the clown as he ran off towards the dorms.
The Joker
Knowing that Harvey was gone for good, the Joker took his time pulling himself up off the ground. He was giggling as he did so even though the pain from his broken nose was tremendous. He picked up his knife off the ground and wiped the blood off onto his pants.
"You haven't seen the last of me, Harvey-boy," the Joker said, looking in the direction of the dorms. "I promise."
[Pre-played with...myself. The post is open for one in particular]