The Dark Knight: Green and Purple Argyle, Of All Things

[sickle_stories]

Disclaimer: The Joker and The Dark Knight belongs to DC Comics. I just like to play.
A/N: Referencing this screencap, although we'll pretend the grating doesn't go all the way down to the floor. Better-suiting titles would be awesome, and I'm sorry if the POV sounds like he's from a gazillion different places at once.
Dedication: To capn_mactastic, for the initial image and general awesomeness.

Green and Purple Argyle, Of All Things
Or: Covetting the Joker's Socks
A freak.

That's what the cops dragged in. Some weird-ass twitching little freak.

They stuck him right in the cage - center stage - all by himself, when us all were cooped up around. Bastard even got a bench. I'd kill for a bench. But no, I get to stand around in the stink pen, gotta be all tall and muscley so these others keep to their own little bubble, if you get me.

I walk about the cage, checking the new guy out. He don't look all that. Sure, crazy, but that ain't 'cause of the lipstick: he acts all wrong. Though wrong's all relative, and seeing as this here's the criminal pit, I guess we're all wrong. Anyway, most of the guys here are fucked up some way or other.

He's been roughed up by the cops a bit - it's easy to see what with his makeup being all smudged. Kinda reminds me of Christine, that sweet bitch. You ever seen an over-mascaraed eye go all black 'n' blue? Beats the hell out of Picasso, man.

Anyway, this clown? I could take him, easy.

When they carried him in, he was all twitchin' and jerkin', and when they let him go he really started to dance around. He talked the talk - a high-pitched rollercoaster of a talk, stopping when he oughta start like a chokin' engine - and walked the walk a bit. He didn't say none too nice things to us either, walkin' around his cage as he was, till one of the guys - good old Fat Hobbs - got a hold of whatshisface's vest. That was a cheering sight for a bit.

Fat Hobbs got taken out on a stretcher, but it may've well have been a body bag. The cops never do learn how to do full searches.

The freak goes by The Joker, apparently, says one mullet-head when the cops come the second time. He went all quiet after that. One roughing-up too many, my guess, though those cops weren't really laying it on him. Chicken-shit babies, the lot of them. Only, I said he acted wrong, right? So when Mr Freak goes quiet, he don't just slouch on his (oh fuck do I want it) bench of his. Nah, he sits all straight an' proper like some circus dandy, eye-searin' green vest all fixed up right. Hands on his lap like some piano-playing girl just waiting for the say-so.

He wouldn't stand a day in the streets. (Fat Hobbs notwithstanding.)

I'm standing across from this joker - sorry, "The Joker" - and the little fucker smiles at me all half-grin psycho. Something don't look right. Something don't move right in that smile. I can't quite see 'cause of his overworked-whore lipstick smudge, but there's something messed up with his face. I take a step to my right, shove Greaser outta my way, and get the light angle on joke-face just right.

Woo-ee. Man's got some wicked scars on him. I wouldn't mind shaking hands with the author of them beaut's.

Fuck this. I'm bored and damnit, Hobbs knew where to get the good shit.

I take my time walking back around the cage. Them Christine-eyes don't follow me through the crowd - he just sits still. I wonder if he's a fright away from digging his nails into his thighs to stop 'em shaking. That's what that pose is all about, man, that calculated "I don't give a fuck" has more petrified - -fried - than my own mom's chicken.

I lean back on the wall a bit and watch the guy's back. I'm game for a fight, yeah, but I ain't no Hobbs. Gonna let him get nice and easy on his lazy-boy bench first. A man's back's his fightin' flag, y'know, let's you see if he's ready for a fight or not. This guy, for example, is still tense - and I mean pole-up-his-ass sort of tense.

I settle for a wait. The guys around me back away a bit, getting the idea. The kiddies across the cage perk up. Way to ruin things, boys. No, wait, alright, they're getting the idea.

Waiting ain't fun, and staring at a purple-and-green nancy ain't it either. Imagining busting the kidneys under that green, well, that's what we call entertainment.

Well lookie here, the Joker moves! And it's the right move, too. See that shoulder? Rolling back, right? The neck? Ditto. That back's just screaming, "Fuck me over!" Happy to oblige, dandy.

Oh, he did not just do that. He's kicked off a shoe. The colour coordination goes all the way to the socks. Green and purple argyle. I was going to aim for the kidneys, or try a rabbit punch, see if that don't knock him dead, but, man, those socks just have to go. Why he don't just press his ass up to the bar is beyond me, 'cause that there was the coup de Graceland.

I'm on the ground with one arm through the bars before the guys around me know the party's on. I grab a hold of one sweaty sock and heave, cracking his ankle up against the bench and then pulling, throwing him off balance and off his precious bench. I let his face get to know the floor a moment before dragging him back so he's trapped under the bench. Good old bench, it's almost like having a partner on the inside to keep him down. I've got his leg in all the way through the bar up to his knee.

I'm just shifting my grip to his heel - gonna smash his knee up good against the bar - when something purple whirls at my face.

That little flash of purple's the last of this green earth I see.

Comments

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

his overworked-whore lipstick smudge,

I'm kind of in love with this line. This whole thing is just perfect.

[sickle-stories.livejournal.com]

*surprised blush* Wow, thanks so much!

[capn-mactastic.livejournal.com]

*glee*

I love it! There's some fantastic imagery in here, and I love the descriptions of the Joker (and watching the Joker) :D


Off-Topic: I'm also totally stealing the idea of a 'completed' tag, because that's just clever ;)

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

♥!!! *happy squee*

[theloyalist.livejournal.com]

dude, this was awesome! I love the idea of writing the Joker through another criminal's eyes. the language in this was perfect.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

*squees* Thank you!

[talk-back.livejournal.com]

Love the voice and the details. :)

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[dartemis24.livejournal.com]

Ee! I love the voice. The comparisons he makes with the Joker and "Christine" are wrong but hilarious. Memory'd.

[There's a typo in the beginning, though. "Weird," not "wierd".]

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks ever so much!

[Damn, that word always gets me. *fixes*]

[xgreen-bananax.livejournal.com]

I love it! It's in such an interesting point of view. I love the comparisons to "Christine," even though I know how fucked up that is XD.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Lol, poor Christine :) Thanks for reading!

[jtree.livejournal.com]

Oh my, you really got inside that fucker mind.. The guy's machismo personality was so present in your language, all fleshed out. Even up to him Mom's chicken! Very fitting that the Joker's overwhelming twistedness, the 'wrongness', would register even to those dispicable punks watching him there. The ending was very apt. Nicely written!

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks for those kind words! Glad you liked it :)

[bacchae23.livejournal.com]

Um, reeks of awesome?

I'm sorry, because I'm absolutely horrendous at writing truly concise reviews, but this was very well done. It's really been great checking out different POVs in TDK, and this was no exception. Excellent voice, characterization (and metaphors, let's not forget those) and you give just enough of this original character to make him interesting but not too much to make him a Jerry-Sue (though I doubt you'd do that, anyway). I've never pondered what the other inmate-folk thought of the Joker when he was residing in Central, and this really put a lot in perspective.

So anyway: yeah. You must keep writing, 'cuz this was pretty schweet.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

0.0 *flails about* *hugs you* Thank you - seriously, thank you - for those wonderful words. Really, just... *hugs*

:'D

[misshquinzel.livejournal.com]

I'm so in love with this.

It's just so perfect! Some of the lines were just breath-taking.

Really, I wish there was more! Thank you for posting this! *hugs*

Re: :'D

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

*huuuuugs* Thanks so much! The muse just hit me last night - she's very flighty but I'll try my best to tempt her to stay.

Re: :'D

[misshquinzel.livejournal.com]

Well, I should hope she does! (I find cupcakes help!)

Really, the best fic I've read in a while! :)

Re: :'D

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

*glomps* :D

[psychrolute.livejournal.com]

I loved this! The different POV was really well done and refreshing, and I love that even though it's totally from an OC's perspective, it's still totally Joker-centric. This line in particular: "a high-pitched rollercoaster of a talk, stopping when he oughta start like a chokin' engine" described his speech so well. Mem'ing. :]

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And *squee*, you quoted one of my favorite bits \o/

[martian-aries.livejournal.com]

Love! The voice is amazing, which, yeah, everyone is saying --but it really is. You got inside the character's mind. And that last line sent a little chill up my spine. Great work!

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

♥! I read each comment as if it were the first (often with a little squeeful dance) so really it's ok if similar comments have been made. And I'm glad you liked the last line (I was a bit meh over the ending). Thanks for reading!

[monsturrxxx3.livejournal.com]

That was the most amazing thing I've read. The way you word things, and all, it's just so cool! This is my new favorite source of inspiration :D

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Wow *blushes furisouly* Thanks so much!

[lilyoftheval5.livejournal.com]

That was certainly an unique point of view. Thank you for sharing.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading!

[ghostwalker.livejournal.com]

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[zeneschal.livejournal.com]

Yay! Joker pawned!
xD

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

:D Joker beats all!

[gaiafaye.livejournal.com]

The voice was a little too typical punk for me, but I guess that's kind of the point. Typical crooks aren't up to the Joker's level. And I did enjoy the imagery, particularly the bit about "Christine."

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your comment :) I didn't quite know what I was doing with the POV, just writing it on the fly and at times channeling a meaner version of Firefly's Jayne's lingo. Glad you liked the imagery!

[cracked-shield.livejournal.com]

I covet the Joker's socks as well >_> I mean seriously, they're just awesome. But anyway, onto the bit about your story.

What I liked was how well you captured the atmosphere of a crowded holding tank, even if it was just a little bit Hollywood, it was still VERY good. The fact that your OC was hung up about the bench? Fantastic! Little details like that always do it for me.

Still, machismo aside, the language and imagery were fantastic. A nice amount of slang...and before I blather your eyeballs any further out of your skull, suffice to say: I dig it. x) Great job.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for your kind words - I love it when people say just which bits they liked. (I always thought it was a bit unfair that the Joker got personal space and a bench ;)

[madwabbit.livejournal.com]

this was so freakin' great.

love how to flesh out the OC, totally believable.

and then you did a really good job describing the joker from an outsiders perspective--it was spot on

loved it.

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[chaiteelatte.livejournal.com]

Haha! Love it! Reading alternate perspectives of missing moments in the films is a personal favorite of mine, and I think you captured this one really well. The voice of the narrator was great, and he never crossed the line into annoying-ness or gary stu-ness. Great oneshot! Gotta love the Joker. :D

[bending-sickle.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I'm really glad you liked it :D