[TAKEN: Closed] Mad Love: Joker seeking a Harley

[Blythe]

Edit: I have a bite for this already, so this is closed! :)

Welcome to my very niche request thread idea! This is specifically an "origin story" idea for Harley Quinn, wherein I'd play the Joker and act as a sort of 'GM' in a very light way to help us determine how Harley turns out by the end of her Origin Story.

The tale would begin at Arkham Asylum when the Joker is brought in by the Batman. The doctors won't know the inciting incident that resulted in the Joker's capture, as the local PD are still investigating the fallout of it.

Dr. Quinzel--Harley--starts out with some super basic statistics, and your choices as her player will affect her final outcome. Will she become the Harlequin of Hate, the Clown Princess of Crime, the villain we all know her to be? Or will your version of Harley resist the Joker's advances and treat his illness? Or something in between?

The tale will take place between the time the Joker is admitted to Arkham and his next escape--once he escapes, the tale ends and we will determine Dr. Quinzel's final fate by looking at her stats and discussing what makes sense! This isn't nearly as system-y as it sounds--it is a lot like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure with a lot more interactivity. The general writing format will look something like this:

1) My post, with some possible Options at the end for you
2) Your post, with your selected Option and how you want to pursue it (if you pick Romance, your post should be about something romantic Harleen does for the Joker. If you pick Unlawful, describe what law-breaking thing you want her to be doing!)
3) My next post, responding to yours & setting up for future Options
4) Your next post, as we play out the scene

Lather, rinse, repeat until it seems right to offer a new set of Options.

Question: Do I have to pick from the Options you offer?
Answer: No! My offerings are suggestions, not instructions! If you want to pick something not listed, tell me and tell me what Dr. Quinzel is doing to warrant picking that! We can determine what "symbol" your idea falls under easily.

There can be sexual content if you like, of course--just select Romance Options and it'll get there! Be aware though that I'm advertising this as Extreme for a reason--the Joker has dark tastes, and if Dr. Quinzel gets involved with him, she might be subjected to them. Expect heavy bondage, knife play, and humiliation to feature in, as the Joker is a particularly cruel thing. Harley might fall in love with him...but whether or not she can make him fall in love with her will depend strongly on your choices for her in the story!

Question: Do you care about "canon" for Dr. Quinzel?
Answer: No. Hell, if you want, Harleen can be Harlan and a man (just notify me of this so I modify my game info and opening RP post). She could be trans instead. The Joker's sexuality is very fluid, so feel free to mess around with Dr. Quinzel.  She could be a squeaky clean just-graduated doctor or she could be a rough-around-the-edges bad girl who somehow lucked into her position after screwing around in college. You get to decide who you want YOUR version of Dr. Quinzel to be. She can be hypersexual or she can be shy and inexperienced. She can be a brash jokester or a gentle intellectual. Consider Dr. Quinzel to be a mostly clean slate for you to create--the only requirement is that this character is actively practicing psychiatry at Arkham Asylum for the story premise to work. The only reason I even use "she" as a default pronoun is that a female Harley is the most common version of Harley Quinn. :)

A breakdown of Dr. Quinzel's starting stats
& the full list of Options & what they mean

Dr. Harleen Quinzel’s Statistics
Health: 10/10 [Uninjured]
Ethics: 5/5 [Regular Person]
Sanity: 5/5 [Sane]

Symbols that appear at the top of an RP post indicate the Joker's mood. Symbols that appear at the bottom of an RP post coupled with suggestion text are Dr. Quinzel's Options.

Romance Option: This is a symbol indicating that the Joker will be currently receptive to romantic attention/is actively pursuing Dr. Quinzel or that Dr. Quinzel would like to voluntarily choose to pursue romance with the Joker and can safely do so without being caught.  Romance Options are separate from Insane or Unlawful options because it represents a primal and different motivation for Dr. Quinzel.

Lethal Option: This is a symbol indicating that the Joker will be currently inclined to kill or that a choice Dr. Quinzel makes here could result in fatalities. Selecting Lethal options can periodically cause Dr. Quinzel to lose Health. If Dr. Quinzel drops below five Health, she is Severely Injured. If she were to drop to zero, she dies. (Dr. Quinzel can only lose 1 Health at a time and starts with a total of 10)

Lawful Option: This is a symbol indicating that the Joker will be behaving or that Dr. Quinzel is making a deliberate choice to do something ethical/obey the law. Selecting these options will raise Dr. Quinzel's Ethics rating by 1; she begins at 5. If she drops to 0, she becomes a villain.

Unlawful Option: This is a symbol indicating that the Joker will be in a rule-breaking mood or that Dr. Quinzel is making deliberate unethical choices or is actively breaking the law. Selecting these options will reduce Dr. Quinzel's Ethics rating by 1; she begins at 5. If she drops to 0, she becomes a villain.

Insane Option: This is a symbol indicating that the Joker's mood will be unstable & that his following actions will not follow any particular rhyme or reason + indicates a high tendency towards jokes/puns--or it indicates the Dr. Quinzel is choosing something nonsensical/reacting atypically. Doing these options will erode Dr. Quinzel's Sanity rating—she starts at a 5 and loses a point each time she selects an Insane Option.

Doctor Option: Regardless of her situation, Dr. Quinzel is a doctor of psychiatry. This symbol represents when she wishes to act in accordance with her position--administering treatment to the Joker or any other inmates, attempting to study/make sense of a patient, or understanding the general protocols and layouts of Arkham Asylum.

I'm also trying something a little different. I actually have the first post of the game currently written already. All you need to do is confirm you've read my O/Os (posting here or in a PM to confirm that for me is fine), and you can immediately begin writing this with me. I do not care about your RL gender; I just care that you're willing to play as Dr. Harleen Quinzel and are interested in the silly little system I've tacked onto this--and that you're okay with themes like psychological horror/abuse, crime, violence, and the kinks I mentioned up-thread. I'm trying this pre-written approach to see if it helps me kick off the game a little faster, since I know I'm rubbish at keeping up with PM conversations.

My posting speed will be unpredictable but probably a bit slow.

The starting post is >> HERE <<! Wanna write it with me? :)



Edit: I have a bite for this already, so this is closed! :)