Huh. I had to read this one twice, too, to understand it properly. The first time, I understood that there were three players: Harley, the Joker, and somebody else. It was the second reading when I figured out that the third person is the bully she's addressing.

YOU'RE SO SCREWED, MAN.
HAHAHA but if that wasn't my parting thought. That guy is going to die. But all in the name of our favourite pair. :)

I totally agree with you that 'is it cpreeing neat' as your fic.
Especially I liked the phrase 'The caressing words roll like fatalistic dice in the tense atmosphere of the room'. This one hell of a metaphore here.

Damn. She's one lucky gal. I wish I had a guy like Mistah J. She takes full advantage of everything he has to offer. Lmao but seriously. All of your end notes crack me up.

VERY neat. I like it a lot! :D go get em for her, Daddy!

*hugglz drabble* =3 *lovelovelovelovelove*

I love it - and it's so true. People often dismiss Harley as being somewhat pathetic and easily manipulated, but she's more than capable of sticking up for herself in her own right (she came closer to killing Batman than most). Sure, she gets thrown out of the odd building, but how many people can sit on the Joker's knee, or hold his head in their lap? That's power too, not to mention what he'll do to people who try to harm a person who's only his for the harming.

So, awesome story. I enjoyed reading it, oh my yes.

ha ha ~ nice job

I'm impressed. You managed to keep the both of them in good character while displaying something that doesn't really occur in the series. However, I sure can imagine Harley and The Joker in this type of situation.

Better than most of the *censor* that I have to put up with.

Now thats power.
I wounder how long it toke you to come up with that analysis, its great as a oneshot

How long have I left this un-reviewed? Shameful! X_X You must have been thinking I'd forgotten all about you... T_T

While I think that placed in-between such brilliant and intense pieces as "Christmas Red" and "Good Morning Sweetheart", this comes off as appearing a little weaker somehow as a result...there's definitely something different about this piece (and I don't mean that as a criticism); I just can't pinpoint what it is exactly... *deep thought*

Anyway, I really enjoyed it, and I was so interested in seeing that you'd taken your idea from our conversation about JHQ and the power-balance in the relationship (inflated my ego quite a bit, I gotta say! XD) and seeing how you developed that idea, and where you took it. I liked this very much, and would have loved to have seen it explored in more detail, were it possible. ^_^

I loved the contrast between the childish, teary-eyed, pouting, "someone's been picking on me" Harley that appears on the surface, and the cunning, observant, perceptive and intelligent Harley that we see underneath, clearly revelling in the power-fix that the Joker can provide. With those golden girly pigtails and big baby-blue eyes, she's the perfect picture of innocence and guilelessness, so I loved seeing the darker side of her madness and obsession surface. And it says SO MUCH about the Joker - that, by association, he can this utterly childlike and seemingly-harmless girl into something threatening, someone who's favour you need to keep. There's a wonderful dark streak to this, and in my opinion it fits very well with her character, even though we haven't seen an interaction like this take place yet. I don't need canon to know when a writer has nailed a certain aspect of a character or relationship. ^_~ Anyway, I also love that he can clearly see this too, how the hurt/comfort charade plays out like a game.

And I really did *love* the twisted game of pretend, the joke that just these two are in on and the delightfully twisted kick it gives both of them, the idea of this sugary sweet interaction as a thin veil for something very sinister and violent. Man, do I feel sorry for the poor soul who got on Harley's bad side! XD It's the potential for exactly this kind of exploration of the J/H relationship that reinforces my opinion that people who say that Harley's presence in the mainstream comics weakens the Joker rather than strengthens him just don't get it. ^_~

Oh, that is just absolutely awesome! What a great H/J fic! Awesome! The best I've seen...wonderful characterization, and wow... perfect HQ fic! :D

That was a rather interesting look into Harley's mind. It was very clever, and I love it. I also liked the end notes: "Say Puddin’, some guy is bullying me in Arkham. No guy can do that but you, right?"

-Nightmare1

I was very happy to see a new one shot today! I check faithfully for updates to "A Madhouse Romance" which left me in quite a lurch! I can't believe you've left poor Harley in such a state for so long! You must have as cruel a sense of humor as the Joker himself.
This dynamic you've described here makes so much sense. You really have a handle on these characters, and I like this explanation of Harley's obsession. But it really is multi-layered isn't it, though it's all related. In AMR, she wants to love the Joker, he is "a poor pooh" right? needing sympathy, love, understanding. He's a lost child that needs a mother (it's that mothering instinct, though, that tends give her the strength to fight the Joker, see the kick in the face when he didn't want to save "the babies"). Here in this fic though, she is very aware of his power. Knows that she is powerful because of him. It really works, and you say that we don't really see her do this (at least in the cartoon, I haven't read the comics in a long time), but I can sort of see this kind of action happening in "Harlequinade." Batman's been mean and "had [her] all locked up in his bad old car, too!" She's telling on Batman while cuddled in "Daddy's" arms.
I don't know if any of that made sense, but I wanted to let you know that I am reading your stories and enjoying them very much. They are some of the best fanfiction that I've read. I mean that sincerely. You capture an aspect of the Joker/Harley relationship that just hasn't been explored to my satisfaction on the cartoon or in the comics, though we get tantalizing hints at it. Please keep writing!

Very interesting. I added you to author alert, mainly because I was hoping for more chapters on your origin story, but also to see what new ones you would come up with. Pretty neat. Really.