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Bella finds Milliways in the moon palace instead of one of her balconies.
"Huh," she says aloud.
Then, to Alice, Libby, Elena, and Mary, and Lazarus except he autoreplies with a busy message, [Hey folks, Moonstone Palace grew a bar that I don't remember putting in, come check it out.]
self_composed
self_composed
"No," Bella says. "I mean, yes, that's a possible reaction to that experience, but it's not the only one. You could have turned into some pro-death-penalty tough-on-crime reactionary."
edgeofyourseat
Upstairs, Alice snuggles up and kisses the scar at the corner of the Joker's mouth.
"Where'd you get 'em?" he wonders.
"Where'd you get 'em?" he wonders.
manofmyword
"Lemme show you," he suggests, producing a knife from somewhere. It is a little bit amazing how good the Joker is at coming up with knives.
self_composed
Well. Even in the unlikely event Alice decides to keep creepy duplicate scars by suppressing his regen, his present when they get home will get rid of them, Bella has that on good authority.
edgeofyourseat
"The boyfriend again?" guesses Roberta.
Alice, meanwhile, is experiencing the sudden and obvious understanding that of course the Joker gave them to himself. He laughs.
Alice, meanwhile, is experiencing the sudden and obvious understanding that of course the Joker gave them to himself. He laughs.
self_composed
"Alice asked about the..." Bella traces the scar locations on her own cheeks. "The Joker has offered to show him. The scars won't keep even if Alice lets them form to begin with, but... yeah." Pause. "Alice, who I guess would probably know, thinks the Joker gave himself said scars."
edgeofyourseat
Roberta frowns, more interested than disturbed. Although she is definitely also disturbed.
manofmyword
The Joker slides the knife into Alice's mouth and rips it out again. It bleeds quite beautifully, and even more so when he does it again.
Time for a kiss?
Time for a kiss?
edgeofyourseat
Hell yes.
He lets himself heal somewhere in the middle of it, because he likes the tension between his cheek trying to come back together and the Joker's tongue pushing on the edges. It doesn't even hurt that much, but it's hot in a way that plain old pain can't compete with.
He lets himself heal somewhere in the middle of it, because he likes the tension between his cheek trying to come back together and the Joker's tongue pushing on the edges. It doesn't even hurt that much, but it's hot in a way that plain old pain can't compete with.
self_composed
"He's letting himself heal," Bella reports. "So that's good. And of course they haven't gotten anywhere near the edges of his actual pain tolerance, which I don't think nonmagical humans can even approach without dying..."
edgeofyourseat
"Just tell me: consenual experimentation, or some kind of horrible... magic... thing?"
manofmyword
The Joker shifts his grip on the knife, rests the edge against Alice's throat.
"You're gonna do me a favour," he murmurs.
"You're gonna do me a favour," he murmurs.
edgeofyourseat
...Well. Alice was not expecting that flashback.
It's not even exactly the right wording, and practically everything physical about the situation is wrong, but it still works just the way he's sure the Joker meant it to. All of a sudden he's seventeen again, in a dim New York alley, every detail of the scene crystalline in a way only eidetic memory can achieve.
It's not even exactly the right wording, and practically everything physical about the situation is wrong, but it still works just the way he's sure the Joker meant it to. All of a sudden he's seventeen again, in a dim New York alley, every detail of the scene crystalline in a way only eidetic memory can achieve.
self_composed
[Are you okay?] Bella asks him, sitting bolt upright. [You can leave. You can leave without notice at any moment.]
self_composed
...
Bella keeps reading.
"He blocked me," she mutters. "I asked him if he was okay because he was having a flashback and he blocked me, and now I can't talk to him unless I brute-force it..."
Bella keeps reading.
"He blocked me," she mutters. "I asked him if he was okay because he was having a flashback and he blocked me, and now I can't talk to him unless I brute-force it..."
edgeofyourseat
Alice and the Joker are flat-out brawling now, and the knife does damage to both of them in the process. So does the floor. And the frame of the bed. And the nightstand. And a wall.
He is more pissed off than he normally ever gets. At the Joker, at the man he was just reminded of so viscerally, at Bella; also, in a weird complicated inexplicable way, at himself.
He is more pissed off than he normally ever gets. At the Joker, at the man he was just reminded of so viscerally, at Bella; also, in a weird complicated inexplicable way, at himself.
edgeofyourseat
"People having flashbacks do strange things," says Roberta. "Although I still think you should get him out of there."
self_composed
"Yeah," Bella says. "Yeah, at this point I agree with you. He'll be pissed, but he's pissed now..."
She still doesn't want to go up there in person. She wishes on a pentagon.
It stays on its chain.
Bella blinks, and swallows, and asks in a trembling voice, "Bar, was that you?"
She still doesn't want to go up there in person. She wishes on a pentagon.
It stays on its chain.
Bella blinks, and swallows, and asks in a trembling voice, "Bar, was that you?"