Paper Planes

final thoughts

A/N: I know, I know... not a Joker pic BUT he's SO BEAUTIFUL I'M DROOLING. (I love him I love him I love him I love him I love him)

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"The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink."
—T.S. Eliot

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How it all began
Around May(ish), I read my first Joker fanfic. It was called "The Sweetest Vice", and can be found on Fanfiction.net. From that moment on, I've wanted to write my own version of Heath's Joker so, so bad. Unfortunately, I'd come to realize that Wattpad seems to really lack a good selection of Ledger Joker fics (probably because TDK is nearly ten years old and Leto's Joker seems to be more relevant these days...), THUS, Paper Planes was born! I debated for a while about writing this book, and I didn't even have a plot when I created the draft. I struggled to come up with a good plot for a bit, until one day, an idea came to me... the idea of the paper plane necklaces. I immediately fell in love with the idea, and rolled with it! I began Paper Planes at the end of July, and surprisingly, I've managed to finish a whopping 41 chapters by November??? I've honestly never written anything so fast in my life, especially of this magnitude. I just found myself writing like mad and busting out these hefty chapters every few days (sometimes an update per day!). Either way, I'm so thrilled with this story, and I love it to pieces. It is, by far, my absolute best creation.

The details
As you can tell, Paper Planes is quite detailed. My main goal with this book was to portray a clear image every single chapter, or in other words, I really wanted you guys to see the exact scene that occurred in my mind. This includes every little hand gesture, facial tick, lip lick, etc. I've gotten some absolutely wonderful comments about how well I write Heath's Joker, which brings me so much joy!!! I wanted nothing more than to really capture his image and persona accurately in this book, which includes his very theatrical dialogue (also, the use of italics is super fun). I spent a fair bit of time really analysing his character in order to create the most accurate depiction that I could. I really hope that I did not let you guys down.

The Joker
The character Heath created for the Joker is quite complex. From his colorful dialogue, to the not-so-subtle ticks, and the fascination of knives. One thing I've been completely overjoyed with is the abundance of compliments in regard to how I've shaped the Joker in this book. Like I stated in the details portion, I really wanted to bring Heath's character to life the best that I could. In order to achieve this, I really studied his speech in order to italicize the proper words in his dialogue. I also believe that adding italics makes his dialogue more lively and it creates an opportunity for you guys to really hear the dialogue in your head (I hope). Obviously, in The Dark Knight, Joker does not have a love interest. This poses a bit of difficulty for fanfiction authors, as we have to try to interpret how he'd act around someone he is attracted to. My version of the Joker, Mr. Jackson Napier, has an especially soft spot for Ember DeLoughrey (and for good reason, as you can see). There are several times where Joker may appear OOC in this book, but that's the "Jackson" coming out. In the beginning, I had some tell me that my Joker was not violent enough, but patience is virtue, and Joker's wild, violent side was revealed several chapters in. My fucked-up ass really enjoyed writing some of Joker's kill scenes, especially Olivia & Evelyn's. (Those bitches deserved it & Evelyn got off way too easy). So basically, I had a blast writing Heath's character and I'll do it again in a heartbeat.

A big fan of symbolism...
As you could probably tell, I'm BIG on symbolism. If you didn't catch onto it, the paper plane necklace (specifically Joker's) represents his last true hold onto humanity, as well as the minimal amount of sanity that remains. ALSO, my lovely, darling Horton... my baby Horty... Although I dreaded his death, it absolutely had to happen. Because, once again... SYMBOLISM! Horton knowingly sacrificed himself to save Ember's life in an instant. He didn't even have to think about it, he just did it. He jumped in front of that damn bullet to spare Ember's life. This event was foreshadowed back in XXXVIII, when Horton says: "'If you truly love someone, then all you want is for them to be happy. And if that source of happiness is not you, then that's the sacrifice you have to make for love.'" In this moment, Horton revealed to Michelle that he'd do anything to ensure Joker's happiness, even if that means he has to die in order for Joker to remain happy. In the end, Horton is the hero of the book.

An abundance of thanks
I would be nothing without my loyal readers. I'm not entirely sure if this book would've even been finished without you guys cheering me along the entire way! You have no idea how much your votes, comments, and private messages mean to me!!! I've stumbled across countless comments and messages that have made me cry because they are simply so sweet. You guys are the reason I push myself to be the best that I can be. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Not-so-subtle references
I definitely included some film references in this book, all in relation to Heath's other movies, which was a blast to write about! If you missed some of them, I made a LOT of references to Candy ("I Carry Your Heart", both instances involving heroin, the lipstick writing on the wall, etc.)
Brokeback Mountain ("I'm sorry"/"It's alright").
10 Things I Hate About You (The song Joker sings in the shower, hehe)

In conclusion... For now?
I honestly can't think of too much more to add. I am SO happy I followed through with this idea. I have had an absolute blast writing Paper Planes, and I've grown so attached to all of the characters, it's unbelievable. I absolutely love to write, it's my outlet. When I'm having a bad day, I write. When my anxiety is putting me through hell, I write. When I'm happy, I write. Basically, I'm happiest while writing.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so, so much for everything. I appreciate you all so much!!! I am so overjoyed to see that you all love the characters as much as I do!!

If you have any further questions for me, please send me a private message by Wednesday, Nov. 1st so I can include it in my Q + A!

I love you all so much.

Thank you.

xo. Allie