#arkham!

(Also right off the bat I'm going to apologize for any skips in this timeline's narrative, these sketches were originally done just for Fluffy, so I hadn't considered making a "smooth" transition, so to speak)

Okay, so the biggest thing I'm skipping for now is their actual rescue from Arkham, (very sorry, I plan to make cool art of it eventually)

So instead, these are about their time spent recovering in Wayne Manor after their rescue, but before Bats has dealt with Strange and the public's reaction:

(Sketches will be discussed as top - left -> right and bottom - left -> right)

Just Ed and Jo cuddling to feel better. Since leaving Arkham, Jo has become mute, so physical contact is the easiest way to show care.

Jo is usually the one to carry Ed, but he's currently too unhealthy to attempt that, so Ed tries to carry him around instead. Unfortunately, we all know that Ed isn't terribly skilled that way, and Jo finds it more fun not to help him at all, going entirely limp instead,

A bit of a time skip in this drawing, this would be after everything is resolved, but Jo is still pretty traumatized, so Ed defends him from anyone who dares to try to do or say anything.

Wayne Manor is very uncomfortable to Jo, especially with its many large, open spaces. For this reason, he prefers the library, where he can hole himself and Ed up in a snug, cozy corner.

While breaking out the rogues stuck in Arkham, Bats is the one to go get Jo. Nobody else could really handle his violent outbursts at that point, although he'd still be livid at Batman. This is all his fault, so valid reaction. Because Jo would be so tired at that point, he'd go limp while Bats was holding him, and only start thrashing again once he could hear Ed.

Just a lot more fluff of these two recovering, haha

Jo wouldn't be sleeping and have a hard time eating, but he would willingly seek more comfort from Ed, at least. He's tired of fighting himself on it, he deserves a break.

Jo likes to use Ed as a blanket here. He needs to know that Ed is still there, and the pressure is comforting.

Like I mentioned, Jo really shouldn't be picking Ed up, but sometimes he'd still do it anyway to get away from Bruce. (Also yes, they learn his secret identity, I didn't know how else to bring it up I'm sorry :()

I'm not really sure what else to say about this one other than that their expressions are very entertaining to me,

Feel free to ask my any questions in the comments, I know this post is probably confusing,

They're most based on the inmates outfits in the TellTale Batman series but, something I decided to do for my designs is that the staff and inmates have their logo on different sides. Inmates, over their heart, and staff, the opposite.

Ed just gets the regular fit, he can't cause physical trouble.

Jo started with the regular fit, but he caused a pretty bad fight and left a lot injured, so now he's in a glorified body bag full body straight jacket.

Jervis also started with the regular fit, but he protected Dormouse (Ed) from other inmates, so he got put in a straight jacket.

I'm curious about two things-

How long everyone's imprisonment is supposed to be for their crimes and how their relationship to the doctors/Jeremiah Arkham or Hugo Strange is :3

Have a good day!!!

The length of their imprisonment is actually a bit tricky to answer, but I'll do my best:

As we've stated, a big part of the main au is that Batman and the Joker don't intend to send anybody to Arkham. For those who need help, they need a better facility for that, and for the criminals, there's should be a better jailing and charging procedure.

So, the only way the rogues would end up in Arkham is if it happened before Batman and the Joker could stop it. In this case, the alternate timeline starts with Scarecrow and the Riddler being taken into custody by Batman and the Joker. Usually, Batman and the Joker wouldn't actually hand over the rogues (again, ones that have any saving graces). They always let them get away. But for whatever reason, they do get handed over to Gordon because another crime is taking place that they cannot ignore. Gordon does his best to stall for Batman, but the rest of the force comes to the conclusion that they need to be sent to Arkham. Jo and Ed were uncomfortable, yes, but Batman had made it clear that they wouldn't end up in Arkham. He wouldn't let it happen. But Batman and the Joker continue to be kept busy. And soon enough, Jo and Ed are being driven to Arkham. It sinks in:

Batman and the Joker aren't coming for them, are they?

I don't know much about how one decides how much time someone needs in a facility, but I'd assume they'd (supposedly) get treatment for their "mental ailments" before being charged for their crimes? That said, this alternate timeline probably only takes place over a 3 to 6 months. So the length of their imprisonment should probably be longer if it finished, but it doesn't. Bruce and John are stressing over their stay in Arkham becoming longer and longer. Bruce doesn't want to have become a liar, but he also feels the need to prioritize what else is happening in Gotham. They're in Arkham, it's not like they're going to go anywhere.....

As for their relationship with the doctors, we don't currently have a Jerimiah Arkham (Although we might later if we learn more about him and feel inspired) and Hugo, well...he's not exactly a patient favorite.

Hugo enjoys tearing people's psyches apart and leaving them a shell of themselves. The more strong-minded/determined/resistant someone is, the more he enjoys his work. He is also not above physical violence, and is very unphased by gore and viscera. He's the type of person who'd cut himself open just to see the bodily layers functioning. Nobody knows anything about him before being a doctor at Arkham either; something that Ed desperately tries to find out to gain leverage on Hugo.

Lyle Bolton (no current design, but he is present) may not be a doctor, but he's also important in this timeline. He also enjoys harassing the rogues, especially someone like Ed who can't hide his pain well or dissociate. Again, Hugo doesn't care what he does so long as they aren't dead in the end.

To be a bit more specific about how each of the rogues react to their treatment in Arkham:

Jo - he's been through a lot of pain and needing to put on a face. He doesn't get put in solitary until Hugo is able to push him past his limits, and the easiest way to do that is to go through Ed. Then Jo and Hugo are basically in a battle for control/sanity. Jo refuses to break, and Hugo refuses to give up on him. Other staff might be terrified of how feral Jo becomes, but not Hugo. Jo's only motivation is hearing the updates Hugo's taunts him with about Ed.

Ed - he's absolutely terrified about being in Arkham. It's not clean, it's not safe, there's no escape, and it's terrifying. Jo was his anchor until they're separated and Ed does his best to figure out Jo's condition and how to get out. Usually he could deflect fights away from himself by his use of words, but deflection doesn't work on Lyle or Hugo, so that's devastating.

Jervis - though he doesn't get put in Arkham until later, he and Ed become friends quickly, giving them both some much needed company. Jervis also tries to defend Ed like Jo did, but it becomes harder once he's put into a straight jacket for "insanity and potential of harm to others and oneself" and his maladaptive daydreams are much more pleasant than where he really is.

Harvey - I don't believe we've mentioned him ending up in Arkham in this timeline along with the dorks, but he does. Based on the main timeline of events, he'd have been put in there first, actually. Harvey does his best to stay in his right state of mind, logical and just. He protects any inmates he deems innocent, and attacks those he deems bad. Hugo took away his lucky coin though, so he can get stuck when deciding whether or not to act on his impulses.

- Sarsee

June 7, 2011--8:37pm Arkham Asylum Ward 39--Common Rooms 

Jervis sat in the corner playing patty-cake with the wall, and Crane and Nygma were immersed in a game of chess that neither one seemed to be winning. Joker had broken out last week, followed shortly after by Harley, followed shortly after by Ivy, and the Ventriloquist had somehow managed to weasel his way past security for the fifth time that month. The guards still didn't know how he was doing it, but Two-Faced guessed it had something to do with the laundry chutes. They really oughta get those checked out, he thought to himself.

Group therapy had let out only five minutes ago, and orderlies were making their rounds, trays full of little paper cups filled with colorful pills intended to make the inmates soggy and sleepy and complacent. That was how the doctors liked everyone, just barely on the legal side of lobotomized. Harvey hated the pills and always hide them behind his molars and against the insides of his cheeks. He'd spit them out later and had never been caught. Acting like he was drugged was easy, because it was just like being high, and he had been that so many times he could have feigned it in his sleep. 

He couldn't afford to be doped up today, though, because something told him there was something about to go down. It was the sort of gut feeling he got just before Batman showed up to slam his face into the wall, kinda like a punch to the stomach. He didn't know who would instigate it, or what would come of it, but he knew that it was one of those full moon evenings when something went wrong. All he had to do was sit and wait.

Or try, because there was his least favorite and all-time favorite doctor coming down the steps to the greeting of so many jeers and catcalls, and he came away from the wall he was leaning against the meet her at the barred gates.