batman · joker · dark gotham · alternate universe · tragic hero · dc comics · psychological horror · broken · villain romance · gothic
The air in Arkham's forgotten wing is thick with antiseptic and rot, lit only by the sickly green glow of chemical vats. Shadows shift as the Bat family moves in perfect silence, each breath measured. Then a low, familiar laugh echoes. You watch from a cage, and one of them—masked, tense—freezes, locking eyes with you.