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Haunting Heroes: Fanfic Games, pepperroxd’s library, DP/DC crossovers
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Published:
2023-11-07
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1/1
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The Chivalric Fool

Summary:

fill to the Prompt: Danny’s hiding in the walls when the Bats corner the Joker and the clown starts spewing stuff about how if they kill him they’ll be just like him, one bad day etc. etc. so Danny just… freezes him.

Mind the tags.

Notes:

Written for a game of Who Wrote That? run by @arzurea aka Calix to a tumblr prompt from user @vonehrenfest and the original prompt with my fill can be found here .

This is darker than my usual fare, mind the tags.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The Chivalric Fool

 

Huh. What was that? Danny listened from where he’d stopped to rest.

Some clown was giving a monologue. ‘One Bad Day’? Danny snorted to himself.

He’s kicking something. Someone. On the ground.

Well.

“WHY AREN’T YOU LAUGHING?!” the man screams, raising his arm to hit the other, in black.

Danny doesn’t think. He hurts, but he doesn’t think.

The Clown is frozen in Danny’s ice.

“Because cruelty isn’t funny,” he gasps out.

He didn’t have the energy for this. He does it anyway.

“What?” the clown looks around, and spies him.

Danny …He gasps another breath.

“Because cruelty is a choice, even on my worst day. And I chose to protect.”

“Who are you?” The clown rages. That’s fine. Only Danny can melt that ice.

“Just a guy on his worst day. I gotta tell you though: Took more than a single bad one to get me here.”

“What are you saying?!”

The clown can’t see Danny. The man in black is moving, as if to put himself between them if necessary.

“Someone who understands things more than you do, I think.”

It hurts, as Danny moves. That’s okay, everything’s hurt a lot, for a while.

“See, like I said. I had more than one bad day.”

Danny’s eyes finally focus. “Is that Batman? Jeez, didn’t think I made it this far east.”

“Who the hell are you, Kid?”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Someone who’s had much more than one bad day, like I said. I mean, what, you think that the worst that can happen to someone is - what’d you say, a minute ago? Their girlfriend dying? A mob hit?” Danny laughs a little. “That’s all you think it’d take to break someone. Please.”

“Try a lifetime of benign neglect, as those who love you love their work more. Try never being enough for them, never measuring up, and gasping for it, grasping for it, anyway. Try fixing their work, and being changed from it.”

He’s so close. He’s so far. He tries not to slip on the floor. It wasn’t wet before he stood here.

“Other things too. After that. So many bad days. So many. But I remember, sitting on the couch with my Mom. We were watching a show she liked, and she ran her hands through my hair.”

“So what?” the clown spits. “You just gonna stand there like a coward in the dark?”

Danny ignores him. “The characters liked to quote famous things. Books. Movies. Statistics. It was about politics. I’m not sure why Mom liked it.”

His breath hitches. He steps into the light.

“Kid- “ Batman gasps. Danny freezes him too, before he gets closer.

“Anyway. More than one bad day, right? Much more. You know, I failed English. Doesn’t matter now, right? Because it’s all a joke, right? Because it just takes, what, that one bad day?”

Danny looks at the Fool again.

“I’m not from here, but I know who you are, Joker. I see the weight of the deeds you can’t feel.”

“What does it matter?” the clown sneers. “What does it matter! We’re all doomed anyway! Laugh about it!”

“See, that’s what the guys on TV said, right? In the show?” Danny answered. “They were quoting a movie. I don’t remember it exactly. Mom and I watched it, later. I didn’t like it. But they asked the same question you’re asking.”

“Oh yeah, kid? Gonna laugh with me then?”

“I’ll pass,” Danny says, with a wheeze. “I don’t find a lot funny right now. See, the hands that ran their fingers through my hair? Couple hours ago, they did this.”

Danny, heh. Lets himself go. Straightens himself up, opens his arms.

Batman makes a pained noise. Something falls to the ground, with a wet flop. Squishy.

Probably his kidney or something.

“You could say I’m having a bad day or something.”

The clown looks at him like he’s a bug.

Danny takes a deep breath.

“I see the weight of the souls hanging off of you, you fool. See, the question they asked, right? ‘You Fool!’ they said, right?- ‘What does it matter, how a man falls down?’ - right? That’s what you’re asking? Why not laugh at the man falling, right? It doesn’t matter how he falls!”

Danny grins. His breath rattles.

“My own mother thinks I’m a creature from hell itself. You want to know the answer? In the quote? From the show? I think it’s useful.”

The clown is hanging off of every word, and nods.

“Kid, whatever you’re thinking, I can help you- “ Batman is saying.

“Sorry, man,” Danny gives him a nod. Acknowledgement. “This might be my last bad fall. Like I said, clown dude, I see the weight of the souls. I’m falling, right? My last bad day?”

Danny feels the ectoplasm drip off his fangs, as he walks right up to the Joker.

“The answer, you fool: ‘When the fall’s all that’s left, it matters.’”

The walls reflect the glow, bright green, as it oozes. Danny laughs. It’s dark.

“What’s a worse day, than being dissected by the hands that loved you so? You want to see the fall so bad?” Danny grins into his face.

The clown howls as Danny drags him into the Infinite.

“THEN JOIN ME.”

Notes:

I had to do some research, for this one. First of all, I was only vaguely familiar with the “One Bad Day” monologue referenced in the post. I’d seen it, but not for probably over a decade.

For this story, I heavily relied on this youtube video of the animated scene with this monologue. Danny more-or-less tunes in around this time stamp, 2:20 in the clip.

If you’ve read my other works, you’ll know I’m not a Joker fan. This story was never going to end well for that ass. But I’ve also had the quote (paraphrased) ‘when the fall is all that’s left, it matters’ in the back of my head for a long time, and I knew Danny was going to use it here but - well. Wait, where was that from?

Back to the wonders of internet searches. ‘Cause, hey, if I got it, might as well make sure I’m quoting this thing correctly.

Oh, it was quoted in The West Wing, that’s probably where I first heard it. From an old movie, even then, A Lion in Winter. Huh.

 

Well, The West Wing is an old favorite of mine - watching it is a masterclass in the American Political system. The quote was quoted in Season 3, Episode 10, "H.Con - 172" - and it’s because A Lion in Winter is President Bartlett’s favorite movie. Neat.

A more in-depth look at A Lion in Winter and I’m going: Wait. I know this. The quotes were on my screen but the characters were fully costumed behind my eyes. The more I read, the more of the film - the 1968 version, as there are apparently now two - came back to me.

And Wow, what a film for this one. Ghost King Danny isn’t explicit here, but the prevalence of the trope in this fandom cannot be ignored - and A Lion in Winter is all about a Royal Family. The title refers to Henry II of England, and the story revolves around his family over the Christmas that he is 50 years old, in 1183. The cast features his imprisoned queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his three adult sons jockeying for the throne behind him - Richard, Geoffrey, and John.

It is absolutely hilarious, fascinating, and showcases a dysfunctional - but powerful - family to its fullest. I am delighted by the way the plot winds up in resonance with what happens in this ficlet.

My favorite quote from the movie that I didn't use is: "What shall we hang — the holly, or each other?"

Finally: I leave it open to interpretation, at the end of this, whether Danny fully dies - or merely drags himself and the Joker through and into the Infinite Realms.