Fear/Chaos, or, The Sex Games of Psychopaths [Batman Begins/Dark Knight, Joker/Scarecrow]
Title: Fear/Chaos, or, The Sex Games of Psychopaths
Author: tessykins
Fandom: Nolanverse Batman
Pairing: Joker/Scarecrow
Spoilers: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight
I am Batman
The movies
The movies are the story of how a tortured millionaire became a hero, and ultimately a villain. And this is the story of what happens to the villains who get in his way.
In Batman Begins, millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne travels around the world being emo and meets Henri Ducard, a suavely handsome sugar daddy ninja, who teaches him his ninja ways. Bruce trusts Ducard, despite his menacing goatee, but he is betrayed. Bruce returns to Gotham and begins his reign of terror as Batman, with the help of Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox and, of course, Alfred.
Jonathan Crane comes into the picture opposing ADA Rachel Dawes, helping mobsters plead insanity. It quickly becomes apparent that Crane has a bigger plan; he manufactures fear toxin and is pretty damn crazy. Ducard is revealed to be the sinister mastermind Ra's al Ghul, intending to destroy Gotham and its blight. Crane receives a faceful of his own poison after pissing off Batman by nearly killing his beard love interest. Said love interest also tasers him in the face, and he rides off screaming into the night. By the end of the movie, Batman is victorious and Ra's al Ghul is dead by train. Crane reappears as a drug lord in the next movie, before being apprehended by Batman and sent to Arkham.
The Dark Knight is the story of how madness and desperation twists men. Detective Gordon, DA Harvey Dent and Batman team up to battle the mob and the Joker. This involves subterfuge, car chases and lots of explosions. But when the Joker kidnaps Rachel Dawes and Dent, things decend into the darkness. Batman crosses all his moral lines to torture their location out of the Joker, but he's still too late.
Rachel dies in an explosion and Batman saves Harvey. But not before Dent is hideously scarred by the fire. Dent is driven mad, becoming Two-Face, and kidnaps Gordon's family. Batman is forced to kill Two-Face and takes the blame for his crimes, because Gotham needs to remember Harvey Dent as a hero. The movie ends with Gotham police chasing Batman into the darkness. As Harvey Dent says, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
The Joker, captured in his final confrontation with the Bat, is carted off to Arkham Asylum, where Scarecrow is waiting.
Time to play
Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
Jonathan Crane used to run Arkham Asylum. He's a stuck-up, megalomaniac drug-dealer with an alter ego and a hard-on for Jungian archetypes.
Jungian archetypes, you ask? His alter ego is called the Scarecrow, and he has a burlap mask to match. By the end of Batman Begins, it's pretty clear the Scarecrow persona has taken over. Scarecrow shows up in the beginning of Dark Knight, selling toxin-laced drugs to the city's mob. He's calm and cunning and lucid, despite his exposure to his own toxin. Contrasted to his crazy ass demeanor immediately post-exposure, it's safe to assume that he either found an antidote, or he's developed an immunity.
Next to nothing is known about Crane's origins. It's been supposed that he was a young awkward genius who was bullied most of his life. It's pretty obvious that he has a mild problem with women, or at least Rachel Dawes. If ever there was a schemer, it is Crane. He's a man with a plan. He wants to control the world through fear. He enjoys twisting a person's worst fears against them. There's a dichotomy between the madman who enjoys inflicting fear and the scientist who breaks the human mind to further his research. Cold and calculating, he has an extreme sense of superiority. Crane isn't a psychopath; he knows there are rules, he just doesn't think they apply to him.
And here we go!
The Joker
The Joker is a mad dog. He doesn't have a plan; he delights in overturning the plans of others. He's a man of simple tastes: TNT, gasoline, things that burn. He's an agent of chaos, destroying the status quo. The Joker is utterly unpredictable; no rhyme nor reason. He never has a scheme or a plan, no motives of wealth or power or revenge. He just wants to watch the world burn.
No one knows anything about the Joker's identity, or his scars. A gift for scarred wife, the drunken rage of an abusive father; the Joker's story changes to fit his circumstances. If the Joker has a past, it's multiple choice.
The Joker is the very definition of a psychopath. He believes the only sane way to live in the world is without rules.
A blank slate
The canon
Alas, there is no canon for this psychotic pairing, except that both end up in Arkham Asylum at the end of Dark Knight. I think, if Heath Ledger had survived to reprise his Joker, we would have eventually seen these two charismatic villains team up to destroy the Batman.
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Fear and chaos
The fanon
This is where the action is. I first start to dabble in this pairing when I started to ponder what happens to the Joker after the end of the movie. And of course, as Gotham's only other masked crazy, he would have to meet the Scarecrow.
Like two ships that pass in the night, Joker/Scarecrow ravaged villages and burnt them to the ground.
Before I knew it, I was addicted. They would work so well together, I could see it all in my head. They'd meet in Arkham and Crane would instantly hate the Joker's celebrity status. The Joker would be intrigued by Crane's craziness. The Joker scrawling love notes on torn scraps of sheets, written in his fellow inmates' blood. Crane, tempted by promises of fire and sadomasochistic sex. They'd escape together and take Gotham by storm. Scarecrow would engineer the Joker's signature lethal laughing gas. Who needs a giggling harlequin sidekick when you can have the Scarecrow?
But that's just my interpretation. The configurations are endless. They can be doctor and patient, Crane trying to understand to the demented clown. Doctor Crane pinning the lovely Nurse Joker to his leather sofa. Villains trying to one-up each other in the realms of murder and mayhem. Two men obsessed with and trying to destroy the Batman. This year's Bonnie and Clyde, with no rules but their own. Craziness and chemistry. Chaos and control.
The sex games of psychopaths
The fandom
Specialized doesn't even begin to describe it. Based on a hypthetical relationship between two characters who never meet canonically, well, it's to be expected. The fandom may be small, but it's excellent. Kinky and kind of crazy, this is the place for your dark fantasies. Or maybe that's just me.
Comms
xgeliophobiax
darkknightfic
batman_slash
nolanverse
Fics (the fandom's small enough that you should actually read everything, but highlights)
An Immodest Proposal The Joker wants something from the Scarecrow; the Scarecrow wants something in return, by chickenpattysan (NC-17)
Not My Diagnosis Doctor Crane encounters a former patient, by puregasoline (NC-17)
You Had Me at Hello, See You in the Funny Papers, Bedbugs and Boomboxes, and Bats in the Basement
A hilarious, and sadly unfinished, series by by mercuriazs (NC-17)
Down and Out a fear toxin fueled thressome between the Joker, Two-Face, and Scarcerow by forth_eorlingas (NC-17)
Dolls Just another doll for the Joker to break, by tyrotheterrible (R)
Not to be an obnoxious ass but, my own fic, including the Et in Arkham Ego series, and Play.
Slaughter is the Best Medicine Jonathan's first session with the Joker doesn't go quite as he planned, but then, nothing involving the Joker ever does. Another awesome and unfinished series, by collectively (R-NC-17)
Act Like We Are Fools An epic and truly gorgeous series by lauralot (R)
Author: tessykins
Fandom: Nolanverse Batman
Pairing: Joker/Scarecrow
Spoilers: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight
I am Batman
The movies
The movies are the story of how a tortured millionaire became a hero, and ultimately a villain. And this is the story of what happens to the villains who get in his way.
In Batman Begins, millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne travels around the world being emo and meets Henri Ducard, a suavely handsome sugar daddy ninja, who teaches him his ninja ways. Bruce trusts Ducard, despite his menacing goatee, but he is betrayed. Bruce returns to Gotham and begins his reign of terror as Batman, with the help of Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox and, of course, Alfred.
Jonathan Crane comes into the picture opposing ADA Rachel Dawes, helping mobsters plead insanity. It quickly becomes apparent that Crane has a bigger plan; he manufactures fear toxin and is pretty damn crazy. Ducard is revealed to be the sinister mastermind Ra's al Ghul, intending to destroy Gotham and its blight. Crane receives a faceful of his own poison after pissing off Batman by nearly killing his beard love interest. Said love interest also tasers him in the face, and he rides off screaming into the night. By the end of the movie, Batman is victorious and Ra's al Ghul is dead by train. Crane reappears as a drug lord in the next movie, before being apprehended by Batman and sent to Arkham.
The Dark Knight is the story of how madness and desperation twists men. Detective Gordon, DA Harvey Dent and Batman team up to battle the mob and the Joker. This involves subterfuge, car chases and lots of explosions. But when the Joker kidnaps Rachel Dawes and Dent, things decend into the darkness. Batman crosses all his moral lines to torture their location out of the Joker, but he's still too late.
Rachel dies in an explosion and Batman saves Harvey. But not before Dent is hideously scarred by the fire. Dent is driven mad, becoming Two-Face, and kidnaps Gordon's family. Batman is forced to kill Two-Face and takes the blame for his crimes, because Gotham needs to remember Harvey Dent as a hero. The movie ends with Gotham police chasing Batman into the darkness. As Harvey Dent says, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
The Joker, captured in his final confrontation with the Bat, is carted off to Arkham Asylum, where Scarecrow is waiting.
Time to play
Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
Jonathan Crane used to run Arkham Asylum. He's a stuck-up, megalomaniac drug-dealer with an alter ego and a hard-on for Jungian archetypes.
Jungian archetypes, you ask? His alter ego is called the Scarecrow, and he has a burlap mask to match. By the end of Batman Begins, it's pretty clear the Scarecrow persona has taken over. Scarecrow shows up in the beginning of Dark Knight, selling toxin-laced drugs to the city's mob. He's calm and cunning and lucid, despite his exposure to his own toxin. Contrasted to his crazy ass demeanor immediately post-exposure, it's safe to assume that he either found an antidote, or he's developed an immunity.
Next to nothing is known about Crane's origins. It's been supposed that he was a young awkward genius who was bullied most of his life. It's pretty obvious that he has a mild problem with women, or at least Rachel Dawes. If ever there was a schemer, it is Crane. He's a man with a plan. He wants to control the world through fear. He enjoys twisting a person's worst fears against them. There's a dichotomy between the madman who enjoys inflicting fear and the scientist who breaks the human mind to further his research. Cold and calculating, he has an extreme sense of superiority. Crane isn't a psychopath; he knows there are rules, he just doesn't think they apply to him.
And here we go!
The Joker
The Joker is a mad dog. He doesn't have a plan; he delights in overturning the plans of others. He's a man of simple tastes: TNT, gasoline, things that burn. He's an agent of chaos, destroying the status quo. The Joker is utterly unpredictable; no rhyme nor reason. He never has a scheme or a plan, no motives of wealth or power or revenge. He just wants to watch the world burn.
No one knows anything about the Joker's identity, or his scars. A gift for scarred wife, the drunken rage of an abusive father; the Joker's story changes to fit his circumstances. If the Joker has a past, it's multiple choice.
The Joker is the very definition of a psychopath. He believes the only sane way to live in the world is without rules.
A blank slate
The canon
Alas, there is no canon for this psychotic pairing, except that both end up in Arkham Asylum at the end of Dark Knight. I think, if Heath Ledger had survived to reprise his Joker, we would have eventually seen these two charismatic villains team up to destroy the Batman.
Fear and chaos
The fanon
This is where the action is. I first start to dabble in this pairing when I started to ponder what happens to the Joker after the end of the movie. And of course, as Gotham's only other masked crazy, he would have to meet the Scarecrow.
Like two ships that pass in the night, Joker/Scarecrow ravaged villages and burnt them to the ground.
Before I knew it, I was addicted. They would work so well together, I could see it all in my head. They'd meet in Arkham and Crane would instantly hate the Joker's celebrity status. The Joker would be intrigued by Crane's craziness. The Joker scrawling love notes on torn scraps of sheets, written in his fellow inmates' blood. Crane, tempted by promises of fire and sadomasochistic sex. They'd escape together and take Gotham by storm. Scarecrow would engineer the Joker's signature lethal laughing gas. Who needs a giggling harlequin sidekick when you can have the Scarecrow?
But that's just my interpretation. The configurations are endless. They can be doctor and patient, Crane trying to understand to the demented clown. Doctor Crane pinning the lovely Nurse Joker to his leather sofa. Villains trying to one-up each other in the realms of murder and mayhem. Two men obsessed with and trying to destroy the Batman. This year's Bonnie and Clyde, with no rules but their own. Craziness and chemistry. Chaos and control.
The sex games of psychopaths
The fandom
Specialized doesn't even begin to describe it. Based on a hypthetical relationship between two characters who never meet canonically, well, it's to be expected. The fandom may be small, but it's excellent. Kinky and kind of crazy, this is the place for your dark fantasies. Or maybe that's just me.
Comms
xgeliophobiax
darkknightfic
batman_slash
nolanverse
Fics (the fandom's small enough that you should actually read everything, but highlights)
An Immodest Proposal The Joker wants something from the Scarecrow; the Scarecrow wants something in return, by chickenpattysan (NC-17)
Not My Diagnosis Doctor Crane encounters a former patient, by puregasoline (NC-17)
You Had Me at Hello, See You in the Funny Papers, Bedbugs and Boomboxes, and Bats in the Basement
A hilarious, and sadly unfinished, series by by mercuriazs (NC-17)
Down and Out a fear toxin fueled thressome between the Joker, Two-Face, and Scarcerow by forth_eorlingas (NC-17)
Dolls Just another doll for the Joker to break, by tyrotheterrible (R)
Not to be an obnoxious ass but, my own fic, including the Et in Arkham Ego series, and Play.
Slaughter is the Best Medicine Jonathan's first session with the Joker doesn't go quite as he planned, but then, nothing involving the Joker ever does. Another awesome and unfinished series, by collectively (R-NC-17)
Act Like We Are Fools An epic and truly gorgeous series by lauralot (R)