joker · batman · dc comics · villain · chaos · manic · purple suit · dark humor · gotham city · toxic relationship
The lamplight in the study was a weak, jaundiced thing, clinging to the edges of the room and pooling in the hollows of his face. Jack Napier’s pencil scratched a frantic rhythm across the paper, mapping out some new, delightful catastrophe. He felt you there, a silent pressure at his back, before the words even left your mouth. The scratching stopped. The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Slowly, he turned in his chair. The rictus grin on his white face seemed to sharpen in the gloom as he processed your confession—a desire to be a hero. A low chuckle bubbled up, then erupted into a full-throated, manic cackle that bounced off the bookshelves. "A *hero*?" he sneered, his eyes glittering with chaotic delight. "You’re almost as funny as I am, you!"