The Joker ([info]clown_prince) wrote,
@ 2007-01-10 19:12:00
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*It's been...ooh, gosh, well. It might have been years. It might have been days. It could even have been the time it takes a fat man to eat a peanut-butter-and-jelly foldover. But however long it's been, he's back, and he's pootling happily about the Nexus looking for someone to happen to.

He's not wearing a coat this time, and if one was fooled by his lanky, white-skinned frame, his sunken cheekbones above the scarlet grin, one might feel sorry for him, wandering aimlessly in the cold.

Please. Don't let anyone be fooled.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:19 pm UTC (link)
Someone, somewhere in the Nexus, is bound to be fooled. That someone isn't Ali. Not that she seems to have noticed him, being quite absorbed in...well, whatever it is she does in the Nexus. What it has to do with the ribbon with a bell on it she seems to be studying is anyone's guess.

Oh look, shiny thing. Instant Joker-magnet?

(("pootling"? I think that's my new favorite word ever.))

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:22 pm UTC (link)
((:D It's a great word. I love it.))

*Not only shiny, but it looks like it'll make a noise!. The Joker, in a lack of anything better to do and a fit of apparent generosity toward pregnant women (no, don't let that fool you either) approaches, grinning, on silent feet. They're silent because he's wearing only soft, cardboard-soled slippers. Arkham's finest shoemaking at work.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:26 pm UTC (link)
She doesn't notice him until he's quite close, and looks startled. "Oh. Hello."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:28 pm UTC (link)
*The bright green eyes are almost friendly-looking, if you aren't looking right into the depths where the happy capering lunacy lives. Why hello thar ol'buddy ol' pal of mine ol' hey -*

Lost a kitten? *he nods at the bell. The shock of green hair falls forward over his high forehead.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:33 pm UTC (link)
"No. The kittens won't wear bells, they like being sneaky." She smiles in her little being-polite sort of way, tucking the bell in a pocket. "It makes them better spies, you know."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:38 pm UTC (link)
*There's a brief, childish pout at the removal of the bell, then a huge grin, then right into a serious, conspiritorial frown. The expressions flow across his face like quicksilver, all in plain view - subtle, this one ain't.*

Sure. Sure. The Government teaches 'em that. I heard it when I was in Roswell. *Big grin, teeth like tombstones behind his lips* I miss it sometimes. The heat. The flies. The sound of ET's entrails hitting the wall. So who are you? Or is it like the old days - no name, no pack drill?

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:42 pm UTC (link)
She considers, briefly, not telling him. But she's too polite, and he could find out from any number of other people anyway.

"You may call me Ali. And what may I call you?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:50 pm UTC (link)
*He scoots round to appraise her properly, moving rapidly for such an apparently gawky fellow, and bats long (and yes, if anyone was idiotic enough to get close enough to notice) dark green eyelashes. Ye gods, it's trying to be cute.*

I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call me Al...

*pause*

...li. Ali. *grin* I'm not the man I used to be, but you can call me Joker. It looks so good on the broadsheets. *flutter of eyelashes again.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:52 pm UTC (link)
"You can call me Betty if you want." She's stubbornly not thinking about the fate of those who collect names and titles. "I don't mind. Can I call you Steve?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:56 pm UTC (link)
*Pout, but still a happy one. He's playing.*

Oh no. No no no. I went to school with a Steve. He used to wear pastel socks and a pocket protector. *he bounces on his heels, abruptly enthusiastic* Pick another.

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 07:57 pm UTC (link)
"All right...Edgar. May I call you Edgar?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 07:59 pm UTC (link)
Oooooooh. *A long, appeciative sound through purseed lips* Edgar. I like it. Reminds me of home.

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 08:06 pm UTC (link)
"Right then. So what're you doing here today, Edgar? Did you lose a kitten?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 08:09 pm UTC (link)
*He whips his head back as if giving an extremely important interview to a goggling journalist*

Well, Betty, I'd love to say yes, but the fact is I lost something far more important than even a dahling kitten, praise-Jaysus. *He turns his head to one side sharply with a massive grin, and poses. One can almost see the imaginary flash of the camera he's playing to, as if merely being around him gives you a minor dose of crazy*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 08:12 pm UTC (link)
Ali's got enough crazy, thank you very much!

She must, if she's playing along. A pen fished out of her pocket can play the roll of microphone, so she holds it up very journalistically. "And what's that, Edgar?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 08:17 pm UTC (link)
*One long white hand whips out and closes over hers on the haft of the pen, yanking it up as he brings his head down to speak very closely into the "microphone", stage-whispering*

My mind. Ain't that a bitch?

*A sudden yawp of laughter. Yep. It's fingernails-down-the-blackboard-of-your-soul territory. Then suddenly he's Elvis, crooning into the penlid and looking up at her over it*

You've been a wunnerful audience, yuh rilly have. Thangyouverra'much.

*..and not letting go.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 08:22 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, I don't know, I've never missed mine." Tug tug. She wants her hand back!

"You forgot the red scarf though."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 08:25 pm UTC (link)
*She's lucky. Distracted by the immensity of the philosophical concept she posed, he lets go and strokes his long, pointed chin thoughtfully, chewing on his lower lip*

I guess I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't think the darn thing was off having fun without me...

*Crestfallen! What a terrible idea!*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 08:37 pm UTC (link)
"I'm sure it's doing nothing of the sort." She pats his shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure it thought things would be all sex and drugs and rock and roll, but it's probably living in a slum in Detroit, hiding from the landlord."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 09:45 pm UTC (link)
Pfff. *he waves his other hand airily, slender fingers flickering* My mind would never be seen dead in Detroit. *he looks up at the patting with a grin* What are you doing out here?

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 09:51 pm UTC (link)
"Maybe not Detroit. Maybe Phoenix or Keystone or someplace," she concedes.

"Oh, exploring. It's a big, interesting place."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 09:58 pm UTC (link)
Interesting? It's boring!

*This in an almost feline yowl of petulance. The truth is, he's got sick of bouncing off the AV field, no-one wants to play his sort of games, and various costumed freaks had ignored him. I mean, ignored!*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 10:04 pm UTC (link)
"I like it. There's all sorts of things to see and do here I can't do at home. And there's interesting people to meet. I love it here." She really does. Life without the Nexus...she can't stand to think of it.

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 10:13 pm UTC (link)
*He rolls his eyes and paces off a few steps, then back gain, throwing his arms up in disgust and wagging one finger in her face. Scowl.*

Lady, you're crazy.

*And as if that's the magic word, he grins again, all sunshine and flowers and rainbows and puppies.*

And I like it! C'mon, whaddya say, you and me can be pals, buddies, homework twins? Show me somewhere fun and I'll tell you a secret.

*Any hesitation on her part will be filled with* Please? Pretty please? pretty please with arsenic on? *And more smiles. He's such a happy guy.*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 10:19 pm UTC (link)
"You, my dear, have no idea how crazy I am." She tilts her head to the side, studying him.

"Ah, you like arsenic? I know just the place then." And then she takes his hand (wonder of wonders) and leads him off, and up, and up some more... "Have you ever wanted to fly?"

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 10:24 pm UTC (link)
Well, you know, it's the poison of choice for the young professional. Leave the strychnine to the hoi-polloi, go with what works, though I gotta say, you can't beat the good ol' cyanide for a bit of real fizz, I mean -

*He interrupts his ramblings to give her a serious look*

I love flying. People say they worry about heights. Me, it ain't heights, it's the depths I'm worried about, ya know? *And he chitters with laughter again*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 10:30 pm UTC (link)
"I'm usually more concerned with the landing."

Eventually they end up on that cliff's-edge, skylotuses dancing through the air around them. Reaching out, Ali carefully cages one in her fingers without bruising the delicate petals.

"This is a skylotus. Just one is all the food a normal person needs in a day. The oil from ten produces a potion that lets you fly--if you live through the arcenic poisoning."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 10:35 pm UTC (link)
*The Joker, who is seemingly unmoved by any scene of great natural beauty, be it clifftop splendour or magical flowers, gives it a cursory glance and says*

No kidding. Eat ten, froth around, go flitting with the birdies. Gotcha.

*he abruptly cranes over her shoulder to look closer*

Hey, how'd'you know about this hoojimawhatsis anyway...?

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 10:44 pm UTC (link)
"The flowers? I asked. There are people who come here to harvest them." She's a little put out that he's not impressed. This is impressive, damn it all. Well, she'll just have to admire it for the both of them. "I know where to find all sorts of things."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 10:49 pm UTC (link)
*This is a man who can be overwhelming impressed by carpet fluff or bored to death by the percieved kitschness of the Grand Canyon. It's no reflection on her or the lotus*

Oh you do, huh? So have you seen...

*and he does a simple and unmistakable mime: two fingers poked up behind his head like rabbit ears - only they're patently not rabbit ears he's thinking of. His voice drops once again to that theatrical whisper* ...You Know Who?

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 10:54 pm UTC (link)
"Batman? Mmm, I think so. Men in silly costumes don't generally interest me though."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 10:57 pm UTC (link)
*He snorts*

Do they interest anybody? I mean really. He's the one wearing full-length rubber and I'm the one they lock up. *She gets a sidelong, burlesque look: big eyes, suggestive leer*

So what kind of men do interest you? Sweetheart? Do tell. I bet you've got some sterling caveman of a boyfriend who got a triple-A in opening beer bottles with his heroic jaw.

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 11:02 pm UTC (link)
She snorts. "Oh no. Both my husbands are considered villains in the worlds they're from. One's a pirate and one's a terrorist." She tucks the flower behind his ear, taking a moment to admire how nice the creamy petals look against his white skin. "Good boys don't like me too often."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 11:07 pm UTC (link)
*He doesn't immediately protest being decorated with flowers: he's too busy laughing and flaring a limp white wrist in a very Jerry Springer Show manner*

Villains! Oh, my! You go, girl...heeeeey.

*Fingers pluck the flower out from behind his ear and regard it, then her, suspiciously*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 11:12 pm UTC (link)
"They suit me. What, don't like flowers?" What is it with men disliking flowers so much? She'll never understand.

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 11:18 pm UTC (link)
*He toys with it briefly, then tosses it over his shoulder, grinning so widely that his mouth seems to almost split his face in two*

Mine's better!

*And without warning a ludicrous silk flower is whipped from the pokcet of his purple slacks*

Here, you try it.

*He slides it into Ali's hair. It's massive - how it actually fitted into that pocket is a mystery - and is made of lurid orange and green silks. It looks very real, for all the outlandish colours, and not unlike a stargazer lily in shape and pattern. It will require careful handling as somewhere in the silk will likely be a trigger for some homemade toxin or other*

Poisonous little dickens, but so pretty to look at.

*He wipes away an imaginary tear* Just like moi.

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 11:28 pm UTC (link)
"Yes, I'd imagine. I'm not quite sure it suits me, though. I mean, I just don't have your fabulous hair." She takes a deep breath, scared (really truly terrified that something will happen to Alured) and trying to hide it.

"Maybe you should wear yours, and I'll wear mine."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 11:36 pm UTC (link)
*There's a dangerous moment as it seems he's looking not at her, but through her - he knows fear. He's used to it. He expects it. Then his arm shoots out and flicks the flower out of her hair so swiftly it feels as if she's barely been touched. He leans into it, hawkish nose jammed into its false petals, sniffing*

You don't want it? The ingratitude of some people. *Bright green eyes stare up at her through the fabric petals* Maybe I should just give it to you anyway. *he lowers the flower and shifts his grip on the plastic stem*

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 11:40 pm UTC (link)
"Beautiful things should be where they can shine. It wouldn't be fitting for something so lovely to be diminished by its setting." In her mind, they're on even footing again, so she's not scared anymore and is even smiling. "It is because I'm so grateful and aware of the...the magnitude of your offer that I must decline."

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[info]clown_prince
2007-01-10 11:44 pm UTC (link)
*He stares at her with the glassy emptiness of someone whose brain is indeed occasionally not entirely inside his head, then the empty look is gone in seconds, swallowed up by magnanimous smiles. He tucks the flower behind one of the dark green straps on his braces, where it seems to almost glow*

Aww, shucks, Betty, and you only just met me, too.

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[info]vicioussweetie
2007-01-10 11:47 pm UTC (link)
"Even so, it's hard to mistake you for anything less." She smiles sweetly, hoping he'll fill in the empty parts of that idea with something he'll find complimentary.

Fingers crossed.

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