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differentclasss · 6 months

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Domesticity ♡ Jonathan Crane (smut)

pairing: Jonathan Crane (Nolan Verse) x Reader

summary: Jonathan really wants to get you pregnant, it takes a little convincing for you to take it seriously.

warnings: somewhat possessive behavior from Crane, talk of pregnancy, smut, female reader, just the usual stuff! also, it's not really a warning, but its a pretty simple fluff-smut fic. It's kind of out of character lol.

a/n: sorry for not posting very often, i've been doing really important stuff and definitely not just rewatching the Sopranos again... anyways, I'll probably start posting again since I'm out of a creative funk and have like a million drafts in my docs right now. thanks!

word count: 1.7k

It was soft and gray outside by the time Jonathan got home. The sky was full of clouds and the house was quiet. He put down his briefcase and untied his shoes as he walked into the quiet apartment he shared with you. He could feel this distinct sense of neediness for you he’s become accustomed to when he has a long day. Something was comforting about you, something he couldn’t place his finger on, but you made him happy. It was what most would consider love, but for him, it was all too new for him to name it.

You were laying on your stomach with your elbows perched on the mattress of your soft bed as you read some book Jonathan had recommended to you. You wouldn’t have noticed Jonathan had returned if he hadn’t dragged your attention from the book laid out in front of you by clearing his throat as he walked into your shared bedroom. You looked up at him with that same doting smile you had whenever you saw him and made your way to him. He glanced over at you as he began to take off his tie but your hands quickly replaced his.

“Wait,” You said as you stood in front of him. “Let me do it.”

“Whatever you want.” He replied as if he was doing you a favor.

Truth be told, he liked your desire to do small things for him. There were little things you did that meant you cared about him, despite how cold and cranky he could be occasionally. He would find his glasses cleaned after going to shower or you would get his favorite suits dry cleaned without him even saying anything about it. All those little acts of domesticity he admired in private. He had his acts of fondness as well, he’d stop and pick you up a small treat on his way home and sometimes if he was feeling especially romantic, he would place a vase and flowers out on the kitchen table for you. There were plenty of silent acts of a proper home life that you both devoted time to.

“How was work?” You asked him once you finished taking off his tie and placed it on the dresser.

“It was fine.” He said before giving you a quick kiss on the forehead.

He hated talking about work with you, it was better to keep it vague and short. Anytime you prodded for more detailed responses he would brush it out with a simple, ‘patient confidentiality.’

“I missed you today.” You softly murmured as you wrapped your arms around him and rested your head on his chest.

“Likewise.” He said while slowly caressing your hair.

It was easy for him to just think about you during these moments, with your warmth enrapturing him in a spiderweb of affection. He could put off his alter ego for a night of your intimacy and during these nights, he often thought about how easy it would be just to enjoy you and enjoy the life you could have together. Seeing you so sweet on him made him want to keep you like this forever, something more binding than just living together.

“Thought about you all day.” He softly murmured against your neck as he pulled you over top of him on the bed.

“Yeah?” You asked with a teasing smile. “What in particular?” You asked.

“Thought about you just like this,” He replied, pulling you closer till there was practically no room between you, chest to chest. “You look so pretty.” He added.

You loved his praise, even the simplest of words made you get butterflies like how you did when you first met him. Knowing he was known as cold and bitter to most made it all the more special to hear him speak so fondly of you. You kissed the side of his neck and let out a content sigh as his hands slipped underneath your shirt and fondled your breasts for a moment. You let your neck fall back as he began to kiss the side of your neck and worked his way to your jaw. His teeth sunk suddenly into your jaw which caused you to hiss.

“I was thinking about another thing too,” He added as he pulled away for a moment. “I kept on thinking about how much prettier you’d look with my come in you.” He mumbled the last bit and it made you blush deeply.

“Jon,” You said with a small smile, your hand grazing his cheek. “We’re not married yet, you already wanna knock me up?”

“Don’t be so old-fashioned,” He said as he quickly maneuvered your body to be under his. “It’s just an idea.” He replied as he buried his face into your neck and began to kiss it with a certain amount of passion.

“I’m not against it.” You said quietly as your hands ran down his shoulders. “Just… Are you serious? That’s a big step for us.”

“Of course, I’m being serious.” He says as he pulls from your neck and gazes at you. “I gave myself a hard-on today just thinking about what’d it be like to see you pregnant with my kid.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the declaration. You always had figured he wasn’t one to even think about settling down, that just didn’t seem like him at all, but here he was, talking about having a child with you.

“Never thought I would hear you say something so affectionate.” You giggled and kissed his cheek.

“Can’t help myself.” He murmured as he kissed your lips and then pulled back. “Maybe I just want to marry you and get you pregnant. Have you here taking care of our kid and being a good little mother.”

He kissed you harder than before, clearly getting worked up over the thought of you as a mother. You didn’t mind the thought he had. It made you feel desired beyond just sexual attraction, to want to procreate meant something deeper than moving in with each other or having a pair of his shoes next to yours in the closet.

“Do you want me to dress up in a pin-up dress and wear pearls too?” You asked with a giggle, to which he bit your lip for.

“Don’t tease.” He reprimanded.

Based on his growing erection, he probably did want you to wear the dress and kitten heels, maybe not all the time but just to take it off. Jonathan got needier as he felt you through your clothes. He took your shorts off and discarded them carelessly before rubbing you through your panties. You grunted and pushed your hips to his hands.

“You do want it,” Jonathan mused as he felt your soaked panties. “You just wanna be a housewife with your cunt full of my come, hm?”

“Jonathan,” You mewled. “Just wanna make you happy.”

“You are making me happy,” He said with a small grin as he slipped his hands underneath the seam of your panties and pumped two fingers into you quickly. “It would make me a lot happier to see you nice and pregnant though.”

Jonathan loved how he barely had to touch you to get you into a whimpering mess underneath him. Your face always flushed into a pretty shade of red and your hands held onto him tightly whenever he gave you his fingers. Little moans and whines escaped your lips, no matter how hard you tried to conceal them. His hands left you for a moment as he took off his belt and then took off your shirt, making another short moan of neediness escape your lips.

“Can I come in you tonight?” He asked as he touched the bottom of your stomach, already imagining a phantom bump. “You’d make a great mother.”

Frantically you nodded, hands falling to his chest and pulling off his shirt. He worked on his pants and tossed them to the floor. You kissed him swiftly once he was as bare as you were and felt him hold your leg by the back of your knee as he teased you with more small pumps of his fingers.

“Tell me you want it as bad as I do, sweetheart.” He told you in a hushed voice.

“I want it,” You replied in a whisper. “Wanna have your baby.”

He didn’t need much confirmation after that. Hastily he moved your legs over his shoulders, knowing this position would let him get deep inside of you. Jonathan lined himself up and slowly filled your cunt up with his cock. You quickly inhaled and grabbed his shoulders for some support as he rocked into you. You moaned and felt tears in your eyes from the pressure in your cunt. He sneaked his hand to clit and rubbed it quickly, making everything seem a tad overwhelming. With your orgasm building sharply, you closed your eyes tightly as your cunt clenched around him, making both of you shiver. His hand kept circling your clit making feel more than overwhelmed at this point.

“That’s it,” He grunted from over the top of you. “Gonna make you a mommy, make you full.”

You inhaled in response, his hips coming down into you faster and faster. A few curses tumbled from your lips as another orgasm approached. Sweat began to form at your temple and once the separate orgasm came and went, your legs trembled.

“I’m so close,” He warned you in a hoarse voice. “Fuck, just gonna fill you up with my come and make you mine completely.”

You were too overstimulated to really hear what he was saying, everything blurred together at that moment. He gave you a few more unforgiving thrusts and then came inside of you, holding himself still for a moment to keep it all there. You caught your breaths together and kissed you on the forehead.

“Thank you.” He murmured as he lifted off of you and laid down beside you.

You smiled and then gave him a small kiss on the lips and went to the bathroom, feeling a bit shaky but strangely content with this new declaration. After you cleaned up you went and laid back down with him. He seemed miles away again, eyes fixed on the drawn blinds of your window. You couldn’t tell if he was feeling guilt or maybe a tinge of worry after all of that but you just nestled your head into his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

#jonathan crane x reader #jonathan crane smut #jonathan crane #jonathan crane x you #jonathan crane fanfic

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harmslength · 5 months

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(Mostly) NSFW Headcanons - Part II

Disclaimer: Slight spoilers ahead so be warned. Just covering movies I have seen before or know a decent amount about the character. Overall, just my own personal opinions. This is just for shits and giggles so feel free to disagree. I’m also very aware that I’m being a hater rn.

Red Eye (2005) | Wes Craven - Jackson Rippner

• FREAKY ASS DUDE

• probably would learn everything about you before asking you out

• mean asf, like definitely the type to pick on you and call you a cry baby

• loves, loves, loves roleplay, specifically: CNC (Burglar x Sleeping Victim)

• big on humiliating you, probably the type to hold your head down while giving head. Likes his balls being sucked..

• feral mf, loves to use his teeth (ankle biter energy) and eats pussy like a champ [insert slurping noises]

Perriers Bounty (2009) | Ian Fitzgibbon - Michael McCrea

• top contender for best in bed

• grimey little dude.. but hey, bums know how to lay pipe like it’s their god given purpose

• not attached to any particular fetish or kink just very experimental and kinky

• 3 words: tongue in ass. There I said it. Specifically from the back, he will stick his tongue in places god hasn’t even seen.

Broken (2012) | Rufus Norris - Mike Kiernan

• spontaneous and sensual. Probably an exhibitionist lowkey

• can be a bit selfish at times, but definitely makes it a priority to make you cum.

• could definitely see him having a thing for stockings or thigh highs

Inception (2010) | Christopher Nolan - Robert Fischer

• if a boy was a princess it would be him

• DADDY ISSUES

• all bark no bite, he’s a bottom if I’ve ever seen one. Loves being told what to do and how to take it

• big fan of praise and humiliation

• will dom at times but definitely is not his preference

Watched the Detectives (2007) | Paul Soter - Neil Lewis

• Puppy

• horny teenager vibes, probably would fuck you in his office while your bent over his desk

• loves roleplay but in the vanilla way like: cop x criminal, stepsiblings 🤭, strangers, Bonny and Clyde. Just overall loves recreating cheesy pornos.

• loves when you’re all natural down there

• definitely likes to think he’s the one in charge but you would absolutely wear the pants in the relationship

• whiny asf, likes to whimper and pout. Big on theatrics.

Breakfast on Pluto (2005) | Neil Jordan - Patricia Kitten Braden

• the queen herself 👸

• another top contender for best sexual partner

• pillow princess, loves to be taken care of but will absolutely do the same for you. Definitely giving switch vibes

• super tender and sensual, could definitely see a friends to lovers trope here

• LOVES to tease and loves sexual tension. Wandering hands and subtle glances kind of shit

Sunshine (2007) | Danny Boyle - Robert Capa

• needy little freak but in a subtle way

• you would probably have to make the first move

• would probably zone out during sex ngl

• classic fan of gripping hips and neck kisses, relatively vanilla but open to exploring

• nonchalant lover but good bf overall

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) | Christopher Nolan - Jonathan Crane

• say it with me now— Mommy Issues

• don’t be afraid to join in— daddy issues

• probably grew up with his grandma or two loving parents that he despises deeply

• sick little gremlin, probably into sounding or golden showers

• two words: doggy style 😎

• he’s a switch, but mostly doms because he gets off on the thought that he’s better than you

• big on quickies, hump and dump kind of dude. Casual sex, but not super big on multiple partners

• so repulsed by the thought of sex that either the utter crippling shame of it turns him on so much that he acts like a deranged animal

• or is so repulsed that it hinders him and only does it when absolutely necessary

28 Days Later (2002) | Danny Boyle - Jim

• Jim, Jim, Jim — I love him with my whole heart and my whole pussy

• hear me out.. probably the best sex out of everyone HEAR ME OUT

• this man is DEVOTED okay!! Bro would take out an army base of 20 men just to get a lick of pussy (more so, a gentle sensual kiss, shared between two troubled lovers)

• you know he’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Probably would bring his own bib and cutlery js 🙄

• not overly kinky, in fact probably a bit inexperienced, but satisfaction is guaranteed.

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cillianmesoftlyyy · 4 months

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I Can Fix That... Pt. 2 | Jonathan Crane x fem!reader

author's note: I decided to make a pt. 2 purely for my own enjoyment, though I hope there are others out there as sadistic as myself. I finally watched the Batman trilogy and did research on DC fan pages to write this. It follows the plot of Nolan's DC adaptation so all characters mentioned (like Ra's Al Ghul) are from the comics and movies.

Summary| She gave into Crane because she needed to survive, at least that's what she's tried to tell herself, but there was something about this man that just felt so painfully... right. Now Crane has a proposition and he doesn't intend to take no for an answer because he's starting to like her -- uh oh-- too much. Where will their new agreement lead them when Gotham devolves into chaos?

Warnings| Based on an DC action movie- drugging, slut shaming, fear and terror, dubious kidnapping, restraints, drugs, physical violence, spitting, toxic relationship, mentions of a gun, chaos, and needles. I know- it's a lot.

word count: 8596k (lol oopsies?)

Wires- The Neighborhood 🎶

Where did you sleep last night- Iridium, Salazar, Liam Marks 🎵

Caesar on a TV Screen- The Last Dinner Party 🎶

The detective nodded her head, surprised that she’d so easily forgotten her plan. Dr. Crane sniffed and spun his set of keys around his finger casually.

“Now the best thing about being the creator of my fear serum,” he started, moving to the shelf of vials he had previously sorted, “is that I have an endless supply and every opportunity to use it whenever I want.” She could hear him smile but she could no longer see him. Crane admittedly liked the girl and he’d fucked her as a minor pivot in his original plan for the night. Now, it was time for business. He pulled a dish of powder from a locked drawer and hid it away from sight as he crossed back into the girl’s view. “You may think you understand what my serum can do, but you’ll never truly know until you try it.” She furrowed her brow and shook her head, wishing that she could back away from him but she couldn’t move. He changed the subject swiftly, not giving her a moment.

“I applaud you for your performance tonight. I was more than willing to humor you and of course, your present state did you many favors. I like my women tied down…” he joked and chuckled darkly. “But now, we need to get practical.” He removed his glasses and folded them slowly. He slipped them into his breast pocket. “You know too much, Miss —, and we both know that your current allegiance to your job would prioritize a crude sense of justice over your affection for me. We can’t have that, can we? So, I’d like to propose a solution or a treatment of sorts.” He clenched his jaw, angling his head down so that he was looking up at her through his eyelashes. “You’ve already proven to yourself tonight that the mind has complete control over the body. Desire rules judgment… and I want to rule you.” He smiled darkly. Before she could speak, powder was thrown into her face, blocking every orifice with a sickening gas.

The anxiety was immediate. She saw strange creatures approach her from all sides, poking and prodding her with dirty nails. She saw the walls leak a disgusting fluid, like blood and fecal matter and it spilled over the floor. People sorted through the liquid for scraps, children screamed and cried around her. She’d been one of those children, raised in an orphanage because her parents couldn’t afford to keep her. Strange men swarmed the children, offering toxic treats and money for favors which the children shied away from. She screamed, pulling at her restraints as she tried to fight off the assailants. She shook her head violently side to side, and she screamed involuntarily with raw terror at what she saw. In the midst of a nightmare of Gotham’s poverty and dark underbelly, Dr. Jonathan Crane stood calmly before her. He watched her, his arms crossed against his chest. He cocked his head to the side.

“What do you see,” he asked calmly. She turned her attention to him like he was a beacon of light in a horrible storm.

“Jonathan, help me!” She cried.

“Tell me what you see,” he said again and clucked his tongue to calm her. She looked around again at the people she saw, rummaging through mountains of trash.

“Horrible… horrible poverty. The things… the things I saw as a child. People starving, children crying…” she whimpered. Rats scrambled across her body and she screamed again, shaking against the table. “Jonathan, please!” She called for him and he waded towards her, oblivious to the horror around him. He stood above her and stroked her face. He removed the restraints from her waist and her wrists and helped her sit up. The things she saw darted out of her peripheral vision, distorted now and hard to understand. She couldn’t run because she couldn’t tell where she was anymore, where her body was in relation to her perspective. Did she even still have a body?

Dr. Crane grunted as he helped her off the table and held her up beside him. She fainted in his arms and he carried her out of the secondary lab into the corridor. He punched the elevator’s call button with his free hand and dragged her inside. As the large steel doors closed, he fished for his cellphone in his pocket and called his driver, telling him to meet him outside the hospital immediately. Crane hushed her, gently patting her head though she was still unconscious. The elevator dropped them at the floor she’d entered on originally and Crane carried her to the side door, ignoring the looks the night attendants gave the strange couple. A sleek black car waited outside in the alley, the engine running and dispelling smoky exhaust into the air around them. Crane opened the car door and helped her inside, smirking at the security guard at the door.

“Our meeting was successful, thank you officer.” He waved goodnight to the security guard who shifted awkwardly in his seat at the side door. Climbing in after her, Crane leaned over the console to speak with his driver.

“My apartment, please.” He gave the order sternly, even with the addition of the ‘please,’ and the driver nodded, speeding off into Gotham’s dark streets. His hand rested comfortably on her thigh as he watched her. She started to come to in the backseat, though the effects of the drug had still not worn off. Her breath was fast and she leaned deliriously into Crane’s shoulder, seeking protection from what she saw outside the tinted windows. She was so afraid that she felt safer in the arms of the man that had drugged her, and it would take hours to realize that, but by the time she did, the psychological effects would have already taken root.

The car stopped outside of a dark apartment building in one of the only nice parts of town in Gotham city. It was raining as he helped her back out of the car and into the large lobby of his apartment building. She clung to his arm as he led her into an elevator, playing a soft melody that sounded like shrill screams to her intoxicated mind. As the elevator doors opened, effects of the drug began to wane though her heartbeat was still racing. She looked up at Crane’s sharp jaw and how he clenched it as he opened the door to his apartment and pushed her gently inside.

“I pay my people extra to turn a blind eye to everything that I do. I understand these circumstances appear even more nefarious, being that I have admittedly drugged you and brought you to my apartment. What can I say, I’m a bad feminist.” He smiled darkly and locked the door.

“When do I stop seeing… these things?” She collapsed into a chair behind her and cradled her head in her hands.

“The effects will be gone in an hour,” he responded coolly and switched on some of the lights in his modern apartment. The apartment was two stories with a spiral staircase and an elevator that led to the upstairs. She looked around, trying her best to ignore the hallucinations and study the actual apartment itself.

“You’ll be disappointed to know that I don’t have a lab here, it’s against the building’s codes. I spend very little time here actually, I’m always at Arkham or dealing with detectives… like you. I’m a busy man. Like I already told you, I have plans to ‘treat’ Falcone tomorrow so I’ll need that room free. This is the next best option and I think you’ll find it more comfortable in comparison.” He smirked and flicked a switch, immediately two restraints looped tightly around her wrists, emerging from a panel in the arms of the chair that she hadn’t noticed. Second restraints looped around her ankles, reminding her as her ankles were spread apart that he had removed her underwear. She turned her knees inward, hiding her crotch and scoffing with frustration.

“Again?” She groaned and pulled at the strong leather material holding her to the chair.

“You sound disappointed,” Crane observed with a small smirk. “It’s only temporary. I didn’t get a chance to question you back at the lab, so we’ll do that here.” He gestured to his empty apartment and started to walk toward her slowly. His lips curled cruelly as he looked her up and down, strapped to the chair. “So tell me, what do you know?” He whispered and she stopped struggling for a moment. She still felt jumpy and nervous but having him so close relieved some of those feelings. The effects of the drug wore off more but the underlying sense of anxiety and loss of control prompted her to answer honestly.

I know that you are trying to make a powerful drug that mimics fear and so far, you’ve put it in a powder form. It works when ingested in some ways and immediately elicits a response that incapacitates the victim. You want to use it widely, to control Gotham…”

“Right, what else.” He leaned on the arms of the chair, his hands grasped around her wrists.

“You don’t work for Falcone but you work with someone else. You’ve just been using Falcone’s drug operation to move your own prototypes of the fear serum. You want to be in charge and you know that fear can do whatever you want it to. The mind controls the body,” she recalled a sentence that he had used before he had thrown the powder in her face. “You’re also somehow connected to the missing micro-wave emmitter. I don’t know why but it may help you in some way, how?” She was breathing heavily like she was going to fall asleep.

“Good work, detective.”

“What are you using the micro-wave emitter for?” She asked. He chuckled and removed his hands from her wrists, backing up. He approached a small liquor cart and poured himself a drink, straight gin. She continued as he drank.

“Who are you working with and how do you expect to control Gotham when everyone loses their minds?” She could barely contain her voice, anger and confusion rose into her throat like bile.

“So many questions…” he swallowed and set down his glass, turning back to her slowly. “Aren’t you supposed to figure that out for yourself?” He raised his eyebrow.

“The mirco-wave emitter would dry out any water supply that it comes into contact with. Wouldn’t it be easier to poison the water supply, you would reach more people… unless it doesn’t have the same effect when administered in water.” She looked up at him but his face was hard. “That’s why you’ve been using it in a powder, it only works in a powder form. If you dry up the water supply and release the powder into the air, there isn’t a way to combat the effects, is there?”

Crane smiled and nodded slowly, “right again.”

“How can you control people who have lost their minds on the serum? You can’t control chaos.” She furrowed her brow and leaned forward, questioning him. Crane cocked his head and studied her for a moment, noticing the last traces of the fear serum leaving her body.

“Control has many forms, Y/N. The chaos that will come from my serum is planned, its existence is strategically executed.”

“But why are you doing this?”

“I love it when you get flustered,” he chuckled darkly at her and licked his lips, his eyes rolling before returning to her face. “It’s not just me, I work for a large organization that has been responsible for all historical catastrophes throughout history. We deal in balance, balanced chaos. They hired me because I can control fear, I know how to use it and weaponize it. Gotham needs to be balanced and it cannot be balanced without it first destroying itself. Create a closed environment with the population’s problems and confront them with chaos, the balance will soon be restored.”

“Who do you work for?” She whispered, her eyes wide.

“Don’t you mean, who do we work for?” He crouched at her feet and placed his hands on her thighs. He smiled crazily up at her and she leaned away from him.

“What?” She whispered.

“I work for the League of Shadows, and now, so do you.” He dug his finger into the soft bottom of her chin and pushed her head up so that she could see the second floor more clearly.

Standing at the rail were men clad in dark armor. One man stood out from the rest. He wore a black suit and carried a gold-tipped cane. He had long whiskers of gray hair like a mustache and steady cool eyes, deadlier than Crane’s.

“Good work, Dr. Crane.” The man kept his focus on her and her blood went cold. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Miss —. We’ve heard so much about you and of course, you’re the one that has caused us so much trouble!” He laughed sarcastically and descended the spiral staircase.

“Who are you?” She growled.

“Ra’s Al Ghul,” he smiled and the wrinkles on his face creased, pulling against his eyes. “I see you’ve already become acquainted with Dr. Crane, our very own criminal mastermind.”

“You’re too kind,” Crane smarted back, watching the girl’s face as she tried to take in all of the new information.

“Now, I have a job proposition to offer you, Miss —. You seem to have figured most of our plan out but I don’t think you understand the complexity of our organization. You see, the League of Shadows is an ancient organization that has balanced the harmony of every major city in the world since the beginning of time. Gotham has gone bad, to the point of no return. Your ‘Batman’ as you call him can’t reverse what has been brewing for years. He never saw what you did, how the people of Gotham live in filth and poverty while the elite few enjoy the spoils. This city needs to be reborn, it needs chaos to restore the balance.”

“But wouldn’t you be killing thousands of innocent people?” She interjected and Al Ghul shrugged slightly.

“Nobody’s innocent,” he answered quickly and then inhaled, clarifying, “Anyway, that’s not what we want to do here. If we take control of the city and hold it for ransom, we can work out a deal to replace the crooked government with some of our people. I’m offering you a role alongside my people. You’re smart, all that evidence you collected against Crane- none of the senior officers could have held a match to it. We destroyed it of course, as soon as Crane told us about your little visit.” She looked past Al Ghul to Crane who leaned against the wall calmly. Had they destroyed the copies? How could she be sure that they were telling the truth? “The box of evidence you had put aside for Sgt. Gordon was the hardest to find but we found it. What made you suspect Dr. Crane? Was it a gut instinct?” He drew on before she interrupted him.

“You want me to help you kill people?” She furrowed her brow and nearly laughed in disbelief.

“We want your help to save Gotham from itself and establish a new and better government.” He corrected, fixing his posture. Crane watched her closely and spoke up from the back of the room.

“She’ll do it,” he answered and she opened her mouth to interject but his smirk silenced her. “She’ll do it because whether or not she wants to admit it, Miss —, is like us.” Crane reached into his breast pocket and removed his glasses. He cleaned the panels with a dish towel and pushed them onto his nose. She looked between Crane and Al Ghul, her heart beating quickly in her chest.

“Will you join us, will you help us save Gotham?” Ra’s Al Ghul placed both of his hands on top of his walking stick and shifted his weight evenly between his feet. Crane folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side, a knowing smile played on his wide pink lips. Her decision surprised her but the serum had already changed her chemistry, Crane had revealed her true self to herself and there was only one choice left.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Crane nodded, “good girl.”

iii

She was released from her restraints and she rubbed her wrists where the leather marked them. Ra’s Al Ghul snapped his fingers and a map was rolled out on Crane’s dining room table. The map was of the entire city of Gotham, showing the sewer and water lines. They explained the plan, showing her where the micro-wave emitter would be placed in the city and how it would be moved through each neighborhood.

“What about the police?” She asked and gestured to the map of the city. Crane laughed and shook his head.

“You were the only cop that suspected this, the rest will have no idea until it's already started. The person we really need to worry about is Batman,” he ran his fingers through his hair and glanced up at Al Ghul, “luckily for him, an old friend is coming by to visit.” Al Ghul nodded and smiled kindly at her.

“Batman and I go way back. I’ll take care of him.”

“What am I supposed to do?” She asked, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Crane caught himself staring and cleared his throat.

“You’ll help me with the production of the powder, ensuring that your cop friends don’t figure out too much and keeping Sgt. Gordon away from Arkham or leading him astray… anything,” Crane answered, setting his face as he spoke. She nodded.

Though they had asked her to join their efforts, they also obviously didn’t trust her completely. They wouldn’t tell her everything, she knew. Her night had gone in a completely different direction than how she had imagined it. Everything had changed after the fear serum, it had shown her that what she feared most had already happened. The police were corrupt, run by small-time gangsters and criminals and crime continued to run rampant as the state lost more and more money, forcing social service organizations to close and more families out on the streets. This whole time she thought that the police could solve the problem but they only caused it. Crane was right, she was like him and she would do anything she could to change the city. After the meeting, Crane poured her a drink and dissolved a packet of powder into the liquor. He stirred it in front of her and Al Ghul before sliding it across the table’s surface.

“This will put you to sleep for a few hours, twelve at most. It’s only a precaution to make sure that you have truly promised your allegiance to us. Everything that you say will be monitored from this point on.”

“Everything?” She looked at Crane who clenched his jaw, a faint tease of blush spread on his cheeks.

“Everything. Do as we say and follow our rules and you stay alive,” Crane finished and tapped the rim of the glass. “Now drink.”

“How do I know that you aren’t just poisoning me?” She asked the men around her.

“We’re learning to trust each other, but you have to go first.” He smiled and when Al Ghul said nothing, she took the glass and drank it slowly. The last thing she saw were Crane’s eyes, set perfectly on her.

She was conscious enough to set her glass down before falling back onto the couch. Crane approached her quickly and checked her pulse, monitoring her reaction to the drug.

“Did it work?” Ra’s Al Ghul asked behind him and he nodded.

“Yes, she’s out. Because of all the drugs in her system already, this one may take longer to wear off.”

“All the other drugs?” Al Ghul raised his eyebrow and Crane chuckled.

“I couldn’t help myself and besides,” he turned to Al Ghul, “you wanted her alive.”

“I’m not convinced that we can trust her,” Al Ghul shook his head and pointed at the map for his men to clean up.

“Oh, I’ll make sure we can.”

“With your mind tricks?” Al Ghul teased and Crane sighed, rolling his beautiful eyes.

“Don’t insult me, Ra’s. I know what I’m doing.” He warned the man calmly and nodded to the men. Two men helped carry her body as Crane led them back down the elevator into the lobby which was deserted at that time in the early morning. They climbed into Crane’s waiting car and pulled away from the curb. The girl’s body was limp against the seat and Crane resisted the urge to stare at her, fascinated by her sleeping body. The men carried her up to her apartment on the third floor of a small walkup. Crane rummaged through her coat pockets for the key into her apartment and unlocked the door.

Her apartment was small and cozy, furnished with minimal couches and chairs. Books and art decorated the walls. Crane pushed through the door and directed the men to lie her down in her bedroom, the small room off of the main living area. They men looked back at him expectantly as he stood by the doorway, watching her sleep. He rolled his eyes and shooed them away. What did they think he was going to do? He’d already fucked her. Alone in her apartment, he stood by her bed and stroked her cheek. She slept on, engulfed by unconscious darkness. He leaned over her slowly and grasped her throat gently, exhaling across her face. He said nothing but looked her up and down and smirked, pleased at the sight of her. He’d won another spoil: her.

She woke up in her bed, twisted in the sheets as if she had been restless all night. She was sweaty and hot, the air stuffy around her. Crane and Al Ghul were nowhere to be seen. She checked her watch and hurried out of bed, stripping off her clothes from the night before and into black trousers and a dark blue sweater. She stumbled into the living room and wound her hair up into a claw clip, moving towards the door when a voice startled her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dr. Crane spoke from the couch. He was in a fresh suit and looked well-rested. He was taking notes in a file on Falcone, his briefcase sat on the coffee table in front of him. She jumped, gasping from shock.

“Jesus Christ, what are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you to wake up. We have work to do today. That bitch at the DA’s office wants to speak with me. I'm supposed to meet with her this afternoon. She’s questioning Falcone’s transfer.”

“I ordered the transfer after you did Falcone’s interview, maybe I could meet with her instead.”

“No, I need you to take this file to the judge on Falcone’s case. I can handle her questions.” He stood and held out Falcone’s file. “I already gave my statement at the hearing but this file will confirm my medical opinion, hopefully that will get her off my back.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Do you think Falcone will talk if she speaks with him?”

“Possibly,” he bent his head side to side and shrugged, “but we aren’t going to find out. Let’s go,” he snapped his briefcase closed and made for the front door. She glanced from the couch to her bedroom.

“Were you watching me all night?” She flushed angrily and followed him. He closed the door suddenly and spun her around, forcing her back against the front door.

“I can only say this once because they aren’t listening now but as soon as we get in the car, they’ll be monitoring you. I am keeping you alive, Miss —. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive but the second you step away from me, you’re on your own. I know we have an understanding so believe me when I say that I would prefer very much if you didn’t die. Follow my directions because they’re following you.” He said in a harsh whisper, a strand of hair falling into his face. They stared at each other in silence, exchanging breath when he kissed her harshly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned softly against his lips. He bucked into her hips and she gasped softly against his jaw. And just as quickly, he pulled away, breathing heavily and led her out the door and down the stairs into the waiting car.

“I’ll need my gun back,” she pointed out as they settled on the backseat. Crane sighed, unbuttoning his suit jacket. He opened a small compartment in the car door and retrieved her gun. As he held it out, he took her jaw in his other hand, his thumb pressing into her fleshy cheek.

“This is where that trust would come in handy, detective.” He whispered darkly. She looked at his lips and then up to his eyes, speechless around him. He watched her struggle for words and chuckled, handing her the gun. “Be careful, Y/N, and remember Ra’s plan.” He looked at her lips and sniffed, slapping the roof of the car. “This is her stop.”

She met with the judge who oversaw Falcone’s case and gave him the thick folder. He looked at it briefly before recognizing the information.

“I appreciate you coming out to speak to me about Falcone’s transfer to Arkham but I cleared everything with Ms. Dawes yesterday. She’s already scheduled a second psychiatrist to meet with Falcone first thing tomorrow morning. She mentioned that she’s also requested Dr. Crane’s case file. Has she seen this?” He waved the folder and she clicked her tongue, shocked that she had scheduled a second opinion and that Crane didn’t know about it.

“I’m not sure, sir. I was the detective working with the prosecution and I was the one who oversaw Dr. Crane’s examination and request for transfer. I can attest to Falcone's mood at the time as well. He screamed nonstop as Crane was trying to conduct a test of sanity. Anyway, I wanted to make sure that you saw Dr. Crane’s diagnosis in the aftermath of his transfer. This has updated notes that Dr. Crane shared with me. It might be useful in your deliberation.” She smiled and the judge looked down his nose at the folder.

“Good point. Thank you, detective. This is helpful.” He opened the folder on his desk and put on his rounded spectacles.

“Well now that we’ve spoken, I’ll try to catch Dawes and save her the trouble.” She pushed back her chair and brushed off her trousers.

“Miss —?” The judge called from his desk.

“Yes, sir?” She looked back.

“Dr. Crane has committed many of Falcone’s men to Arkham in the past few months, is that correct?”

“Yes,” she nodded and her heart raced.

“That must be a pretty crazy group.” The judge laughed and went back to the folder, completely missing the pattern. She sighed in relief and left quickly. She started to walk to Arkham, moving so quickly she felt like she may have been running. Dawes had already scheduled a second opinion, meaning that she was probably at Arkham pressuring Crane for his detailed diagnosis. It would take Dawes one second to figure it out so she hoped she could get there quickly enough to do something. She had no plan which she knew was stupid but whatever was bound to happen in the next few hours would be bad and she needed to help Crane. Her phone began to ring and she put it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Y/N.”

“Ra’s?”

“Are you on your way to Arkham?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Turn around and go back to your precinct. I want you to stick close to Sgt. Gordon, go where he goes. You’re his top detective so run with it. If anything happens at Arkham, he’ll be there and I want you there with him. Crane will be fine.”

She slowed to a stop, skeptical but wanting to believe what her new boss was telling her, “ok, sir.”

After a second of silence, Ra’s added, “It’s Batman’s birthday and what better way to celebrate a playboy than with chaos?” The call ended before she could respond.

She spun around and headed straight for the precinct. She spotted Gordon at his desk, working on paperwork. She hurried over and knocked on the door, letting herself in when he waved.

“Good, I’m glad to see you. I need to run some ideas by you for the Falcone case.”

“I just dropped off Crane's diagnosis for the judge but he said that Dawes may be seeking a second opinion.”

“About that -” The intercom went off with a loud screech.

“Attention all units! Attention all units! Batman was spotted at Arkham Asylum. He is believed to be armed and dangerous. Backup is requested at this time.” The voice repeated with a robotic drone. Sgt. Gordon looked from the speaker to her and grabbed his coat from his chair.

“We need to get to the asylum right now.” Gordon yelled and she followed him closely, checking that her gun was still secured to her hip. She clipped her badge to her front pocket and pretended to sound confused.

“Why are we going, Sgt? Do you think this is about Falcone?”

“It might, I’d feel better if I was there to find out; and if Batman is there, someone’s in trouble.” They hurried down the stairs and climbed into a car. Gordon sped away from the precinct and ran red lights. The tires bled across the roads as they came to a screeching halt behind a row of police cars parked outside the Asylum.

“Why is everyone waiting outside?” She yelled over the noise. An officer standing with his gun aimed at the building yelled back.

“We’re waiting for backup!”

“They’ll be here soon, sir. We should wait!” She yelled over the noise at the Sgt.

Gordon looked up at the building and pulled his gun from his holster. He started moving towards the building, looking back to wave her on.

“I’m going in. You coming?” He called.

She groaned anxiously beneath her breath before responding, “yes, sir!” They raced up the stairs into the lobby which was left completely vacant. Gordon held up his gun and she followed suit, staying close behind him. She felt the urge to kill him now and find Crane but her gut warned her that someone else was in the room, watching. They walked slowly through the main corridor, past the abandoned security checkpoint, creeping closer to the wide atrium. When they stepped beneath the enormous domed ceiling a loud noise broke through the top of the building. She looked up and covered her face with her forearm to protect her eyes from large shards of falling glass. She saw a large dark blur surround Sgt. Gordon and pull him up to the roof.

“Sgt. Gordon!” She yelled after him. She knew immediately that the blur was that bastard Batman. A small laugh escaped her mouth as she shook her head and lowered her gun. A group of SWAT ran in seconds later. She pointed at the ceiling with her gun and called them over.

“He came down and took Sgt. Gordon!”

“Who?” Someone yelled at her and she shook her head, pretending to be unsure.

“I don’t know! I think it was Batman.” She yelled, adding to their panic.

“Batman!” Someone shouted and in the moment of distraction, she slipped away into a side corridor. She bolted towards a staircase and stopped at every floor, looking for signs of activity. Her body burned with soreness as she sprinted down each corridor. She wanted to scream his name but her lungs wouldn’t allow her the extra air to do so. She rounded a corner and ran into a group of police. They all started shouting at her until she showed them her badge.

“I’m a detective- What the hell is going on here?” She yelled.

“We’re looking for Dr. Crane!”

“Have you seen Sgt. Gordon?” She asked, panting and trying not to panic when they mentioned Crane’s name. “He disappeared and I've been looking for him.”

“No, we haven’t. We got a call that they found drugs in the building and then Batman showed up. Crane was running the operation.” One police officer responded and jerked their head to the side where they were going to run next. “It's down this corridor!”

“I’ll come with you,” she shouted and led the unit, her gun pointed at the ground. Two large doors were falling off their hinges further down the hallway. The room itself was smokey and gaseous. She looked down from the doorway where there were stairs leading into a cement lined room like an empty indoor pool. Tables were littered with Crane’s fear serum and men that she assumed were dead. Huge vats of liquid marked with a toxic symbol sat on their sides by an open waterline.

“This is it,” she said to the officer beside her and started to descend the staircase. The smoke made it hard to see so she moved slowly, looking around the floor for Crane’s familiar face. The men she saw were all part of Falcone’s posse who had been hired to help the drug operation run. Something snapped beneath her food and she looked down, seeing Crane’s scarecrow mask which she recognized from his drawing. She picked it up and looked around anxiously, her fingers around the gun shook. Then she saw him. Crane was propped up against a wall and bleeding slightly from the head, a thin trail of blood oozed on the wall behind his head. He was panting and flailing around, his pupils were mere penpoints. He’d been attacked with his own fear powder. She looked around before dropping into a crouch beside him. He recognized her but continued to shake, his eyes darting around her head.

“Jonathan,” she whispered, “it's me.”

“Did you find him?” Someone shouted and she yelled back that she had. He raised a judgemental eyebrow, his mouth forming a cuss word. His glasses were gone.

“Trust me, Crane.” She whispered against his ear and held his wrists together. She took her handcuffs from her belt and handcuffed him.

She leaned against the wall and tapped her foot anxiously as they strapped him into a white straightjacket. She crossed the room and helped the officer secure the last belt, thankful for any excuse to touch him and remind him that she was still there. Looking up at her, he spat and she flinched slightly. His light eyes were ringed with red swollen skin and she wondered if he really felt betrayed by her. She wiped his spit from her cheek and returned to her place by the wall.

“So this is the scarecrow,” Sgt. Gordon entered the room and let the door slam shut. Crane jumped from the noise and closed his eyes, taking a deep shaky breath.

“Scarecrow… scarecrow.” Crane whispered with his eyes closed and shifted within the straightjacket. Sgt. Gordon pulled up a chair, the metal scraping against the floor, bristling Crane into opening his eyes.

“What was the plan, Crane? How were you going to get the toxin into the air?” Gordon asked calmly and fingered the scarecrow mask. Her stomach turned watching Crane struggle to regain control over his mind. He shook and his eyes darted around the room, landing once or twice on her. She kept a straight face, giving no sign that she was terrified that something would happen to him or she would accidentally reveal something about him that they didn’t already know. When Crane didn’t respond, Gordon continued, his voice rising.

“Who were you working for?” Gordon pressed and Crane’s eyes snapped to his, a crazy smile pulling at his lips.

“Oh, it’s too late. You can’t stop it now.” He spoke through shivers, cutting up his words. He smiled at the end and Gordon shook his head. He stood and shoved the mask into her hands.

“Here. Stay with Crane.” He growled and left the room, his footsteps echoing through the heavy steel door. She looked down at the mask in her hands and hid her smile. There was only one officer left in the room with them and she bit the inside of her cheek, trying to come up with a quick plan.

“Are there any officers outside?” She asked the cop by the door who peeked his head outside the door.

“No, ma’am.”

“Good,” she smiled and raised her gun when the door snapped behind him. “Then this should be easy.” She cocked the gun and cornered the officer. “Face the wall,” she ordered and when he turned, she hit him over the head with the butt of her pistol, knocking him unconscious. She quickly handcuffed him and checked outside one last time before running over to Crane. He was still recovering from the toxin, his face set in a deep frown. She began to free him from his restraints, glancing at the door every few seconds. His eyes stayed on her face and he kept muttering things below his breath. When she undid the last restraint he jumped up and it fell from around his shoulders to the floor. She started to smile when he lunged at her and pushed her up against the tiled wall. Her hair clip cracked against the tile and clattered to the floor in pieces. She gasped beneath his hands, one holding her throat and the other grabbing the slack in her sweater, exposing her navel.

“You betrayed me,” he growled, “you told Gordon... I saw you.” His eyes were wild and glazed, he looked right through her.

“What?” she gasped out though his hand was crushing her windpipe.

“I saw you two! You fucked him. You fucked him!” He yelled, his body shook with anger like he was coming down from an adrenaline high.

“No, I didn’t!” She struggled beneath his hands, “this is the toxin talking, Jonathan! I didn’t betray you-”

“But you fucked him,” his voice twisted into a heatbreaking whine, an image flicked before his eyes and he closed them quickly, shaking it from his head.

“No!” She coughed and she could feel herself getting light-headed.

“You love him,” his voice was breaking beneath him and his eyes darted between hers as the toxin showed him more and more; everything of which included her.

“Jonathan!” she screamed and hit his chest hard with closed fists, “I can’t fucking breathe!”

His eyes snapped open wider and he released his grip around her throat. Her feet landed on the ground and she coughed, sinking into a crouch against the wall. Crane stepped back and watched her silently. He was still shaking as he ran a hand anxiously through his hair.

“Why would I save you if I loved him?” She cried in frustration, rubbing her bruised throat. “It’s the toxin, Jonathan… I didn’t do the things you think I did,” her voice softened. She looked up at him and stood slowly, grabbing onto the wall for support. Crane cradled his head in his hands and whimpered.

“What do you see?” she asked quietly and stepped closer. He shook his head and created more distance between them. “Jonathan, tell me.” She pressed and he exhaled with a soft shutter.

“You… fuck,” he started through heavy breaths, working himself up again. “I see you and Gordon…” He rubbed his eyes and looked back up at her. “It’s been so long since…”

“Since what?” She furrowed her brow, questioning. His eyes darted away into the corner and he shook.

“Since my father last used it…” he took a deep breath and finished his sentence with a lengthy exhale, “on me.”

“The fear toxin?” She whispered, slowly starting to understand what he was suggesting. He nodded and flinched as if something had attacked him. Was he saying that his father used a prototype of the fear toxin on him? She grabbed onto the sleeve of his suit jacket and tugged his attention away.

“It’s just me. There’s no one else- nothing else in here except for me,” she gestured to the nearly empty room (the officer was still unconscious in the corner). “And I’m here for you,” she whispered and closed the distance between them, her hands slipped around his small waist beneath his suit jacket. She felt his body tense beneath her embrace before slowly (very slowly) releasing its tension. He didn’t hug her back but rested his forehead on her shoulder. She stroked his hair, and found the shallow wound on the back of his head. She ducked her head as she pulled away, finding his mouth and kissing him gently. The toxin was slowly wearing off and she could tell he was only beginning to return to his normal self.

“We need to get up to my office,” he muttered and looked at the door. “They’re releasing the patients.”

“What?” She furrowed her brow. Crane sighed and shook his head.

“Ra’s gave orders to open all of the cells. The patients will be let loose into the city.” He licked his lips and looked down at her. “We need to get upstairs.” His expression was tense as she could tell he was trying to fight the lingering effects of the toxin. She nodded.

“Show me where to go.”

He pulled her through the door and they ran down the corridor to an elevator. When the doors opened, Crane used his key to override the system, preventing anyone else from calling the elevator. He pressed the button for the floor with his office, not realizing that his other hand was squeezing tightly around hers. When the doors opened again, they rushed down the hallway and into Crane’s office. He sighed when the door was locked and the blinds closed.

“What are we going to do?” She asked him quietly and he inhaled slowly.

“I need to inject you with the antidote so the toxin doesn’t affect you when we leave the building.” He murmured, more to himself.

“We’re going out there?” She tried to keep the fear from her voice but he detected it instantly, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you scared?” He asked automatically.

“Of both of us dying out there at the hands of one of your old patients, yes, yes I am.” She nearly laughed.

“Don’t you want to be part of the fun?” The Jonathan Crane she knew was definitely coming back.

“I’d rather not become the ‘fun’,” she quipped and he smirked.

“As you wish.”

She followed him into his lab and he rummaged through a collection of vials arranged on one of the counters. Finding the right one, he slipped it inside a cartridge of what looked like an epipen.

“Pull down your pants,” he ordered and then it was her turn to raise her eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that and do what I tell you,” he said sternly and she did as he asked, pulling down her trousers where he had access to her thigh. “This will hurt,” he warned her before immediately plunging the needle into the fat around her thigh. She hissed in pain and heaved out a breath.

“The good news is that you don’t have to ever do this again,” he patted her leg and buttoned her pants for her. “Now me,” he changed the vial and unbuckled his pants. He raised the hem of his boxers and punctured the needle into his upper thigh. He grunted in pain and closed his eyes for a moment and whistled out a tight breath. A large explosion shook the ground below their feet. She jumped and winced as she landed on her sore leg. Without opening his eyes, Crane nodded.

“And that would be the patients leaving the building now.” He withdrew the needle and tossed it to the side, buckling his pants.

“Let me see your head,” she touched his arm and he leaned forward slightly, turning his head where she could see it clearly. She carded her fingers through his dark hair and parted the dark roots away from the shallow wound. “It's a small cut, you’ll live.”

“Thanks, doctor.” He smirked. Her fingers shifted through his hair as he straightened and she tried not to look disappointed when they were no longer twirled around his black locks.

“Are you back now?” She looked up into his eyes, looking for trances of fear.

“I think so,” he responded and traced his index finger around the collar of her sweater. There were small bruises where his fingers had been when he forced her against the wall in his state of panic. “Was I terrible?” He whispered.

“Not more than usual,” she laughed lightly and covered his hand with hers. “I’m ok.” She insisted and he furrowed his eyebrows and licked his lips.

He was going to apologize, he was going to tell her how much he loved her and that was why he had reacted so strongly to the toxin, but the words died on his lips so instead he said, “We should leave before the city goes all the way under.”

“They’ll raise the bridges so no one can leave, it’s too late.”

Crane chuckled and leaned against the lab table behind him, his fingers grasping around the edge. “And once again, you severely underestimate me. Come on.”

“Get on,” Crane held the bridle and gestured for her to mount the large black steed.

“You’re kidding right?” She looked around at the burning city and then back to the police horse who’d lost its rider.

“I wish I was,” he sighed and tugged her closer by her waistband, “now giddy-up, Miss —.” He joked flatley and pushed her up onto the saddle. He hoisted himself up after her and sat in front, taking the reins in his hands. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed her thighs around the horse's stomach, holding on for dear life.

“Where the hell did you learn to ride a horse?” She yelled over the panic and she felt him chuckle.

“Oh, there are a lot of things that you don’t know about me, detective.” He smirked and kicked the horse into action. She gasped and held him tighter as they flew through the violence-strewn streets. She couldn’t imagine how ridiculous they looked to the people of Gotham but under the influence of the fear toxin, she hoped people were more afraid than amused seeing a man in a full suit riding a horse. Crane focused on the route ahead, navigating them through the broken city.

“Where’s Ra’s?” She yelled into his ear.

“Forget about him.” He growled and urged the horse faster.

“Why? What happened?”

“He tricked me. He didn't just want to impose an arguably better government, he wanted to kill everyone and to kill us too. He tipped off Batman and that’s how Batman found me. He didn't need me after the toxin had been released. He kept you away from me, didn’t he?” He called over his shoulder, leaping over a crashed car.

“Yes, he told me to go to the precinct instead when I tried to warn you about the DA.”

“He wanted Batman to find me and he assumed that you’d get stuck here after you followed Gordon. Two birds with one stone. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.” He growled and turned the horse onto a side-street and into an alley.

“Where are we going?” She asked, her grip tightening around Crane as she saw people screaming in the streets.

“To my father’s house.”

“How?” His father’s house? After his father had probably done something horrible to him?

“Just hold on,” he warned and flicked the reins again. She closed her eyes, wanting to block out the terror in the streets. While some of it gave her pleasure to see the raw side of humanity express itself, it reminded her of what she had seen as a child- the side of people that came out when they needed to survive.

They rode to the edge of the city and Crane slowed the horse to a stop beside a tall building that looked abandoned. He hopped off of the horse and helped her down, catching her as she forced herself to slip over the saddle. The building was far enough away from the inner-city that it looked like it hadn’t been touched yet by the chaos, though the toxins had definitely reached it.

“We need to get to the roof,” he informed her calmly and pointed her to the elevator.

“Another elevator…” she whispered beneath her breath, knowing it wasn’t the right time to mention how much she hated the idea of going into one when the world around them was ending. Crane pressed the button labeled “20R,” and the elevator began to soar up. The elevator had windows that opened into the city. As the elevator climbed, they could see the destruction of Gotham and right across the bridge, normalcy.

“Ra’s is moving the micro-wave emitter by the high speed rail. If his plan goes accordingly, the emitter will poison the other side of the city beneath Wayne tower.” He pointed out the tall Wayne building from their vantage point. “I hate Gotham and I hate Batman, but I think I hate Ra’s Al Ghul more.” He sneered distastefully. “We could have run Gotham…” he sighed and shrugged, “maybe another day.”

She couldn’t help herself but laugh. Being with Crane had opened her eyes to a new side of herself, one that was dark and masochistic. She liked this side better, way better. She liked thinking that one day she could be in charge, force out all of the government officials that were too dumb or sexist to listen to her. She could lead beside Crane…

When the elevator doors opened a gust of wind met them. The doors opened onto the roof of the huge building. A helicopter stood in the center of a large bull’s eye, its blades running in circles above their heads. Crane’s hair ruffled in the wind and he squinted his eyes against it. Her mouth fell open in shock and Crane chuckled at her reaction.

“That’s the funny thing about, trust, detective. I don’t believe in it,” he smirked and beckoned her to the helicopter’s doors.

“You planned this?” She yelled as he gestured her to climb onto the landing gear.

“Of course,” he smiled, "I always have a backup plan." Her mary janes slipped across the bars as she climbed and Crane supported her back, guiding her back into the body of the machine. He pulled himself inside after her and collapsed in one of the seats. She tried to orient herself, looking around the small helicopter, landing on the pilot. The pilot nodded at Crane, he was wearing a thick mask and goggles to keep the toxin away.

“Ready doctor?” The pilot called from the front and Crane nodded breathlessly. He looked at her and clenched his jaw, returning to the version of Crane she knew so well.

“Yes.”

#cillian murphy #fanfiction #cillian fanfic #jonathan crane smut #jonathan crane x reader #jonathan crane fanfic #jonathan crane #dc scarecrow #hot scarecrow #young cillian murphy #cillian fluff #robert fischer #batman begins #long reads #multi chap fic #cillian x fem!reader

122 notes · View notes

papuhater · 2 years

Note

Nolan Crane (cause I love the way you write him) having a chat with one of police woman about recent Scarecrow attack

"For someone who looks not so scary he sure know how to put fear in people."

He takes offence to that and says that in his opinion Scarecrow costume is pretty scary

"It's a dude with suit wearing bag on his head." Ok, now he is pissed and ask how in her opinion he would look scary.

Next day she shows him her sketches where Scarecrow has more comic book accurate costume that actually works.

"I wanted to add noose to his neck but I think it would be too much. Also it would be too easy to grab him by it."

They get to meet more often to talk about what in their opinion is scary and starts having conversations.

am i scary (pretty) enough?

pairing: jonathan crane x fem!police!reader

a/n: nya nya nya nya (my friend said that when i asked for a/n ideas)

summary: [ask]

☤) jon hated cops, he despised how nosy they were, after the scarecrow incident, some of them had to go to the asylum to check on his work, with the rumors going around of him being the scarecrow.

☤) when the noisy gcpd was asking him questions, the police who were writing the notes started speaking, which jon expected due to nosiness, and he responded rather nicely in a sarcastic way.

☤) until he heard a comment that piqued his interest, it was about scarecrow. it seemed you didn't find him (the scarecrow) scary enough, and doctor crane had the urge to find out why.

☤) he found out that she was named y/n, and he became the interrogator in the interrogation, he asked why you didn't think his disguise was terrifying, and you responded with:

"doctor crane you are giving him more credit than his costume deserves, for example, remember the joker? yeah, he wears a whole purple suit, has green hair and scary clown makeup, which can be considered a costume, while scarecrow literaly threw a potato sack into his head while wearing a nice suit and called it a day."

☤) first seconds of it slowly sinking in, he was offended, he seethed on the inside at the idea of being compared to the weird murderous clown, and refuted your opinion with his, thinking that the disguise was scary enough until it hit him,

you were right, his costume was really stupid,

"so, if you had to change anything on his disguise, what would it be?"

☤) the conversation flowed from there, the awkward ambient that could have ended in an argument became a pleasant meeting, you rambled about how he could theme the suit more around scarecrows and less about a weird businessman, and how scarecrows are used for crops he could use a scythe as a physical weapon and the fear gas as mental.

☤) jon actually started liking tolerating cop visits you had to do, looking forward to his one (1) social interaction of the week he actually enjoyed, tolerated. the topics of your conversation grew and it turned more into catching up in life.

☤) and in this visit, he is waiting outside of the asylum for you and when y/n arrives he feels his day just got a bit better, but different this time you came with an excited smile, and while you both walked into his office the chatter began and the conversation fell into the scarecrow again. but instead of asking, you pulled out a notebook with a sketch and handed it to him.

☤) the second jon laid his eyes on it, he was amazed,they weren't any sketches, they were scarecrow sketches, each trace of line was giving him the image of a scarier mask with a hood and a whole outfit, not to forget the scythe, he really liked the detail you put into the sketches.

☤) it was a whole character design you did, and he couldn't separate his eyes from it, it was marvelous, the curves and lines fitted perfectly and it looked like something he could pull off. you continued to ramble about how this disguise and how it was scary and thematic.

"i would've placed a noose, but i felt i was going overboard, so i erased it."

☤) he completely changed his outfit after that

#jonathan crane #the scarecrow #batman rogues #gotham rogues #jonathan crane x reader #scarecrow #batman x reader #nolan #the dark knight #the dark knight x reader

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 8 months

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makenzie!! batman adaptation discussion for you: it could be argued that there are small elements of camp in batman begins (jonathan crane & falcone embodying them specifically, but also zsasz a little bit lmao), that are nearly obliterated in the two sequels... like nolan was toying with the idea of letting loose, mayhaps. it's really interesting to me, especially because batman begins is arguably the most boring film of the three. would love to know if you have thoughts on this

(my thoughts are getting away from me but also like how does this compare to the kind of camp in batman 2022?? neither are very similar to the 80s/90s films)

hi Elizabeth!!! I was waiting to answer this because I thought my Batman movie club was going to knock out all three Nolan movies pretty quick and I could give a more informed answer, but alas - we've hit a hiatus after Batman Begins, so that's all I'm going to have to work with and it's going to have to suffice because I don't want to leave this sitting in the inbox any longer.

I think for the most part Nolan's Batman movies are too wildly self conscious to qualify for true camp status, but without having revisited the Dark Knight and Rises yet I think I can agree that Begins has the most flirtation with maybe getting a little silly? I think Zsasz is too minor to make much of a dent in the all-consuming self-seriousness, but Cillian Murphy is really breathlessly committed to the Scarecrow and playing him as a straight-up comic book villain in a way that doesn't get to happen much later in the series. he tells Batman to lighten up while he sets him on fire, which rules and would, I think, probably not be allowed in the later movies. he ends the movie wearing a straightjacket riding a stolen police horse and gets immediately taken out by a lawyer with a taser! he's giving us everything he has to give! he has like four minutes of screen time and all of them are perfect.

I do think it's very interesting that throughout all three movies, Nolan is picking out antagonists who are known for being like. BOMBASTICALLY weird and over the top - Scarecrow! Two-Face! Catwoman! Bane! the fucking Joker!!! an entire secret society of assassins, COME ON - and then kind of fighting against the very nature of these characters to make them fit into the world he's envisioned, with mixed results; Harvey and Selina and Bane in particular all fall pretty flat for me. like, fuck, where's Lady Shiva's movie? not that she's not also on some freak shit, but a vicious martial artist obsessed with proving herself against the best fighters in the world seems way easier to fit into a grounded Bat universe in a way that doesn't feel anticlimactic than, say, a bad CGI Two-Face who almost immediately gets murdered. there were options!

anyway I've gotten way off topic, but I agree that Begins had the most wiggle room to set the tone for the universe by virtue of being the first and it did Try Some Things, especially with the presentation and pomp of the League of Shadows, as well as some of Bruce's Brucier moments when he's playing up his rich dolt image, but ultimately a lot of it got rejected in the latter installations in favor of getting ever grimmer.

comparing it to the 2022 movie is REALLY INTERESTING because they're both very dark and gritty, tonally, and I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out why one of them mostly works for me and the other one mostly doesn't (although I'll preface this by saying that they both have high and low points, especially: re their casting; Murphy's Scarecrow is inspired in a mostly bland movie and Paul Dano's Riddler is miserable in a mostly excellent movie, etc).

for me personally a lot of it comes down to how much trust the respective directors seem to be willing to put in their audiences to buy in and accept Batman as a story for what it is; this is largely what I mean when I say Nolan seems insecure in his story. Batman Begins, in particular, has much of its first hour bogged down by explanations of where every individual piece of Bat costuming and tech comes from, almost like Nolan feels a need to look at the audience and prove that it totally makes sense and could work; it comes across like he was specifically anticipating and writing for people who would call Batman's gadgetry unrealistic plot holes, and preemptively apologizing for what Batman is. the whole trilogy comes across as similarly cringing, like it can't quite shake being embarrassed by where it comes from.

The Batman 2022, to me, is sort of tonally similar, in that it's very grounded in the crime and corruption and grimiest parts of Gotham, but it reminds me much more of stories like the Long Halloween the way it's taking place in a sweaty haze version of the city that feels like a fever dream. everything is so heightened where Nolan's movies are so grounded as to be miserably earthbound; from the opening narration Bruce is already a prowling, larger than life shadow who calls himself a creature of the night and sulks around his miserable gothic mansion in running eye makeup while flinching from the sunlight. Reeves doesn't waste a fucking second explaining what Batman is or why Batman is because you are a 21st century moviegoer, you know what and why Batman is and we have shit to do. he already knows Gordon, the Joker is already in prison, the Batmobile is a muscle car that looks goddamn possessed and no, you don't need to worry about where it came from.

the whole movie is wrapped is this fucking. vaguely horny neon ambiance where you mostly know the rules but also have this sense that anything weird could happen at any moment; it's a space that is operating without powers or anything too outlandish for now but very much feels like it has room for a Poison Ivy or a Scarecrow twisting your mind, for a Clayface making you paranoid as you don't know who to trust. it's a gorgeous world to play in and I think it's going to lend itself much more to adapting the world, much more so than the Nolan movies where the addition of each new iconic character just came with the question of how much would be stripped away and flattened to make them fit in. camp requires that kind of playful artifice, things masquerading as other things, to work, and I think Batman 2022 really nailed that.

#thee batman #batman 2022 #nolanverse

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susandsnell · 14 days

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im sorry to drop a fuck marry kill with men into a lesbians box but um ok. fuck marry kill: scarecrow:nolan verse. JOKER:joaquin phoenix. the riddler: THE BATMAN.

Fuck / Marry / Kill

cinthia why are you the funniest person alive. this has cursed me for seven generations.

Okay this is going to be my most "hear me out" of all "hear me outs" except for one answer, but you knew that when you put this insanity in my inbox.

Fuck: deep inhale. I am prepared to accept bullying for this for the rest of my life from you, and that's okay, I'm at peace with my fate. okay okay so. I am not in any way, shape or form attracted to The Batman's Riddler/Edward Nashton. HOWEVER. This man is so fucking bizarre and funny that the reason I'd go for it is literally just to see what would happen. Like, we're talking a scientific approach here. That and I'm good at puzzles, and, idk, I like when men are pathetic like Flik from A Bug's Life so I feel like it'd at least be entertaining. Besides which @bethjohanssen literally once said Reeveseverse/B22 Riddler "looks like a sad lesbian" so it's easier to pretend.

Marry: Easiest answer if you've looked at my blog for more than 5 minutes. Dr. Jonathan Crane, you are my horror movie gothic supervillain blorbo for life in (almost) any iteration, including the funniest possible one where your plots don't add up, you change roles constantly, pop up places you shouldn't, and serve massive amounts of cunt while being the most compelling guy around who isn't named Harvey Dent while being given comparatively so little. He likes lawyers canonically so him and me will hit it right off, and despite very contrasting personalities, I think we'd actually get along okay? I can prep him for his career changes, we can be literary nerds together, and whatever I lack in terms of physical interest in him, I can make up for by being juuuust messed up enough for him to have material for ages. Plus marriage will help with taxes for a guy who takes so many varying gigs all the time! Also you can easily control this Scarecrow by pulling his hair.

And if Nashton is lesbian adjacent, whooooo boy Nolan!Crane...

Kill: Second easiest answer. I do hate to let you down, but since 2019 and through to the present day, I did Not Care For Joker (2019). Phoenix turns in a perfectly serviceable performance, but I find the character's writing to be the apotheosis of cringey SOCIETYYYY~ Flanderization that the Joker gets in pop culture, his tragedy is kind of so overdone it turns into the Frank Grimes episode of the Simpsons halfway through, and he's not nearly funny or compelling enough to balance this out. There's something viscerally unappealing about this version which may be The Point, but also makes this call a lot easier. I'm also just genuinely Not A Joker Person (I love Harley too much) (oversaturation), so this decision was going to be made regardless, but Phoenix Joker is about to Get What He Fucking Deserves (for his movie giving me a massive headache when I saw it in theatres).

thank you so much, I laughed my head off over this

#bat-tag #fmk

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denimbex1986 · 8 months

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'Cillian Murphy has certain opinions on the new age of superhero films. The apparently never-ending stream of superhero films began in 2002 with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, a great popcorn watch. But then, in 2005, filmmaker Christopher Nolan released Batman Begins, launching a high-quality, dramatic, and dark trilogy that wasn't simply a superhero movie but, well, a cinematic excellence. Since then, companies have been encouraged to explore the Marvel and DC archives for every single character and Avenger to be adapted for the big screen. But after recent Marvel and DC films, many feel a different way. So does, Cillian Murphy. In a 2016 interview with Vulture, the Oppenheimer actor revealed his thoughts on superhero movies.

Cillian Murphy revealed his thoughts on superhero movies

Cillian Murphy, like many of us, wonders if we're running out of caped crusader stories to adapt. In a 2016 interview with Vulture, Murphy said, "Have they exhausted every single comic book ever? I don't know where they're coming from anymore.” Murphy, who played Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, posed an intriguing question.

Those three films emerged at the same time when widely accessible special effects helped spawn a surge of movies deliberately designed to spread worldwide, resulting in the glut of half-baked, spandex-laden blockbusters that have followed.

The Oppenheimer star revealed while he was promoting his then-film Anthropoid, "It was a different time back then when we made Batman Begins. I believe Christopher Nolan deserves credit for creating that trilogy of films. I believe they are grounded in relatable reality. Nobody in those films ever had a superpower. Do you understand what I mean? It's a slightly elevated level of storytelling in which New York is transformed into Gotham and no one performs any magical feats. In his films, Batman basically performed a bunch of pushups and pretended to be British. That is what I liked about them.”

Murphy's Anthropoid co-star Jamie Dornan perked up and spoke up from the couch. "Do you remember when you were a kid and you used to wonder, 'Would Batman or Superman win in a fight? That is exactly what studios are doing right now. They're having playful rivalries like, 'Oh, who do you think would win in a race between these two?' 'Oh, why don't we make a bloody movie about it?' they think. It's like going to the park."

To which Murphy replied, "I think they're going to make a Rice Krispies movie starring Snap, Crackle, and Pop; I'm hoping to be able to play Crackle."

Cillian Murphy on the work front

Cillian Murphy is famously known for his part in the hit series Peaky Blinders, but the actor has recently been making headlines for his amazing performance in Christopher Nolan’s directorial Oppenheimer, where he starred as the lead character J. Robert Oppenheimer. Meanwhile, Murphy received a lot of love and appreciation from the world for his depiction of the role. Oppenheimer went on to become one of the global hits of this year.'

#Cillian Murphy #Oppenheimer #Christopher Nolan #Peaky Blinders #Anthropoid #Jamie Dornan #Dr. Jonathan Crane #Scarecrow #The Dark Knight Trilogy

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mirtifero · 1 year

Text

Me ranting about Nolanverse Jonathan Crane,

Because it's either that or me losing it.

Warning: THIS IS FUCKING HUGE.

Contents:

Mixed feelings

How they could have done it better

WHAT THE FUCK

This guy is a FLEV you cannot say otherwise and personality database is wrong SHUT UP (skippable)

Conclusion

Note: topic 4 is very oversimplified. Do not tell my friend I refuse to talk more about theory than I already did on a SCARECROW POST. I'm too lazy to explain topic by topic like he told me to. Shhh

1. Mixed feelings

Okay so first of all what the fuck. Why did they cast Cillian Murphy here. LISTEN, he did great, and that's exactly my issue. If this Scarecrow wasn't filled to the brim with potential I'd just say "it was a mistake to cast Murphy as him" and move on. HOWEVER! He slayed that role. I dare to say he saved that Scarecrow. So why... why is he that conventionally pretty? That's not Jonathan Crane at all! He's... he's an old, (beauty norms wise) ugly man! Why is he young and beautiful???

He's evil, he's perfectly sadomasochistic, perfectly curious and. and evil. okay. I like it when he's evil and a little bit out of it (<3). He's perfect on that aspect! He's great! His... his design is what bothers me so much! His ways are uncanny so even if I have my complaints it fills its role so... just... why!!! Why!!!!! Every time someone says "I don't like him, he doesn't feel like Scarecrow to me" I get it!!! I get it!!!!! I get it so much because there's something so off about him and that's so sad!! Because when you look closely... he's interesting.

He's literally so interesting. I loved reading his wiki. He's evil and manipulative and a gross little sadistic bastard. He is obsessed with fear in a way I love, just perfect for Scarecrow. He's meticulous and aesthetic-obsessed. He, in many ways, reminds me of BTAA Scarecrow, who is, in my opinion, the best one to ever exist!!!

2. What they could have done better

They had the chance to make (one of) the most queer coded Scarecrow and have a magnificent take on his appearance and his backstory.

I think this would have upset Nolan's target audience (annoying dudebros), and wouldn't have pleased many Scarecrow fans that aren't tumblr-levels of online insanity. However, it would have fixed the gap in his backstory ("why was he bullied for his appearance?"). Men are bullied for being feminine-looking, and considering his conservative southern backstory, it would be the perfect match. Skinny, pretty-faced, different from everything Nolan's movie praises: that masculinity full of roughness and violence. Something like this would create a perfect contrast between him and Nolan's Batman and could create many interesting concepts.

By creating this base, this idea of an insecurity regarding his own prettiness, one may open many interesting doors of character exploration. Does he decide to use that in his favour? How does this impact his obsession with fear? The physical aspect of this will be explored in the FLEV topic so I don't get too annoying here specifically.

Anyways! By doing this, it would surely differ from different Scarecrows, but it would still be extremely interesting! How is his love for fear connect, or how can we as an audience connect that to his queerness? The Scarecrow nickname can also be explored here very, very interestingly.

By adding this miserable detail of his bullying being because he looked FEMININE and because of any sort of queerness opens doors to many, many things.

Also just fucking use him more than a punching bag. By just reading his wiki you can find so much about him and one would just... not know? Because he is just thrown there? He's a waste of potential! He should have been a main villain in at least one movie and no the first one doesn't count because the main villain (WHO IS ALSO WASTED GREATLY!!) is Ra's.

And excuse me but this is seen as the "best adaptation" and yada yada so if they had so much power not just fucking delve better into their own characters.

Sure I'm no movie expert to say HOW they could fit all of that. But they COULD HAVE. They COULD HAVE delved into Jonathan. The potential was RIGHT THERE! Something DIFFERENT with him, and yet, they decided to go for mr pretty face that appears to be punched on the gut and disappear.

That's why people dislike the character! He could have been, he was not. Therefore, he's a pretty face. And Jonathan is not a pretty face. So it isn't Jonathan. And I get it. Because I'm also angry at what they did with him. They wasted his potential. Being different isn't a bad thing, but at least explore it!!!!!

3. WHAT THE FUCK

WHY IS HE LIKE THAT. WHY DOES HE.

Okay how do I begin this.

WHY THE FUCK.

WHAAT THE FUCKKKKKKK.

Okay let me try to be more. Coherent.

Why does he look so fucking horny when Batman is around this is fucking HILARIOUS.

And can be so interestingly explored.

Jesus christ I took a break from writing this and got jumpscared from reading what I wrote wait let me try to be less insane.

His sadomasochism is insane bro. (psychic damage 12d8)

I'm honestly obsessed with this part of his personality. It reminds me of BTAA crane and Fear State crane and some others, in a way. He just looks absolutely stunning but his fucking brain is so not normal(tm) that he just did that on the third movie. Looking absolutely horrendous babygirl. Just reminds me so bad of this like. Okay idk if anyone can see it but I can and that's what matters god bless.

I just love when he looks unhindged.

Anyways.

Also can we talk about his obsession with Batman I love when they make him a little obsessed. And silly. Also he sounds so fucking annoying I love it so muchhh dude... fucking bastard!!! His backstory is unhindged this guy is insane he's absolutely obsessed with fear and also manipulative and sadistic and okay the physical aspect of fear will be talked... NOW!!!!!!!

4. This guy is a FLEV you cannot say otherwise and personality database is wrong SHUT UP (skippable)

Aka the one that I'll look like someone talking to a wall.

IF I FUCK UP ON ANY THEORY BIT IM SO SORRY PLEASE DONT KILL ME (IM TALKING TO YOU MY FRIEND I WILL SEND THIS TO WHEN I FINISH WRITING)

In case you don't know what I'm talking about... this is about Attitudinal Psyche (which I keep mispelling... SORRY). It's a personality typing system, to put it very shortly. It most analyses an individual's actions regarding three aspects: Logical (L), Physical (F), Emotional (E) and Volitional (V). These can be positioned in three different huhh "places" (I suck at explaining sorry), them being: confident (1), flexible (2), insecure (3) and unbothered (4).

It's... not as simple as that, though. The names may be misleading and the way each interact with each other may be quite different from type to type. If you for some fucking reason want to know more I linked the site there.

"You believe in this stuff?"

Short answer: no.

Long answer: I believe it can't be used as a way to determine someone's personality, but a very interesting guide to it. I like the fact that it is more complex than MBTI and that therefore it is more hidden from astrology obsessed fucks that are annoying about it (like "oohh im an INFP i cant help it<3" or whatever. no one does this with AP because no one knows about it lol). It is, however, INCREDIBLY, and I mean, ABSURDELY useful when writing characters. It is very interesting when observing characters' actions and putting them in light in an almost mathematical way... Let's say it saved my ass from mischaracterization quite the amount of times.

NOW.

THEY ARE WRONG.

idk shit about the other stuff so idc idc but HIS ASS IS NOT FLVE!!!!

HE'S FLEV!!!

I hope this doesn't get too big because I want to. Elaborate. So, first, let's see FLVE's (WRONG) introduction:

"FLVE is the Attitudinal Psyche type that seems the most interested in the value, worth, structure and potential power of the world that surrounds them. The FLVE appears to be protecting their right to exist wherever they desire by completely resisting any outside forces that try to manipulate or encroach on their space or personal decisions in any way. They may come off quiet, stoic, grounded, aggressive, indiscriminately blunt, immovable, shy, awkward, and even unapproachable – but will open up easily when given the chance to discuss topics related to logistics or intricate details. The FLVE seems to want control over their identity through fully theorizing and testing hypotheses of what holds the most worth or value in their lives."

I put in bold some things. It's just wrong.

I'm going to be honest, I don't even know how people came to this conclusion.

Because even if we superficially analyse the positions, it doesn't feel right. Why is he a 3V here? Superficially speaking, an insecure volition leads to people not knowing what they are, what they want to do, and desperaately want to fix it. Crane isn't... like that? He's not insecure on where his life is heading, he, in fact, doesn't seem to care much as long as it takes him to achieving his fear goals (4V).

Another one that is just weird is the 4E. Take this bit from the 4E in FLVE page as an example:

"FLVEs have a deceptive 4E, as they can appear more invested in their emotions than they are. The combination of aggressive 1F and 3V can give them an angry, reactive emotional tone but the internal experience of the FLVE is a detached devaluing of what their emotions actually mean. FLVEs rarely introspect deeply about how they feel or relate to others, and prefer to listen to feedback regarding the impressions they give off."

Just. AKSJKSKASJAK IT'S NOT HIM AT ALL!!!

He looks extremely deceptive when it comes to emotions, yes, but not because he seems... invested in them or seems to angry and reactive. It's specifically because he sees no use in expressing emotions in environments he feels as unsafe, and he sees barely any use in emotions at all so there's also that (all being very 4E). AND FEEDBACK?? THE WIKI SAYS HE WAS LITERAALLY THE MOST ANNOYING MOTHER FUCKER TO LIVE ON THAT UNIVERSITY AND HE DIDN'T GIVE A SINGLE FUCK ABOUT IT!

Okay now. Time to start explaining that, since he isn't a FLVE, then what is he?

My friend will punch me for not starting with explaining why he's on Pente Sexta but I can't find the theory bit he's referring to so uh maybe later! Just trust me when I mention the Pente Sexta quirk.

WHY IS HE A FLEV?

"FLEV is the Attitudinal Psyche type that seems the most interested in using details and logical musings to gradually transform their environment to be whatever fulfills their sensual and physical needs. The FLEV appears to be protecting their need for comfort, both psychologically and physically, through gathering data and scrutinizing its value to them personally. They may come off as hedonistic, comfort seeking, lax, immovable, heady, satirical, tasteful, picky, detail-oriented, philosophical, spiritual, mystical, or ironic if they are a particularly opinionated individual. The FLEV seems to want control over their identity through gathering and sharing information that they believe will deepen a sense of worth and value towards their lives."

NOW we're off to a better start.

At first glance, it may seem... off, inaccurate, maybe. So let's take a closer look at FLEV:

1F: "why would he have a 1F, why would he be confident on his physics" you may be wondering, my fellow Scarecrow enjoyer. Yes, it doesn't make sense AT FIRST. However! Take a look at the 1F description in FLEV:

"FLEVs have a picky and sometimes vocal relationship to the physics aspect. This type does not shy away from expressing what they like and dislike in their surroundings. They have a strong fascination with aesthetics and mood ¹, similar to their sister type FELV. However, FLEVs are much more lax and hidden about the emotions that drive them. This type wants to be the authority of all incoming senses and will refuse to allow others to tamper with their comforts if they have already claimed them ². FLEVs do not like to waste time in direct confrontation with others, so they tend to pre-meditate and plan around potential conflict that may overwhelm them with negative emotion or dramatics ³. This type gives off an air of hedonism that communicates to others that the FLEV will get what they desire in the physical world no matter how others protest. For this reason, FLEVs can appear highly chaotic and physically vivacious if their vulnerabilities are triggered into action. This type may have a fascination with physical activities that provide abundance like: gardening, farming, metalworking, thrift-shopping, and collecting. This only aids into the typical view of the FLEV as someone highly focused on the value they can attain from the material world."

Okay so, let's break down three main things here (but everything in bold is nice to my point):

"strong fascination with aesthetics and mood" - oh c'mon the guy wears a Scarecrow mask. Motherfucker rode on a horse during that mess in the Narrows. He's obsessed with the creepy little aesthetic.

"wants to be the authority of all incoming senses and will refuse to allow others to tamper with their comforts if they have already claimed them" - quite self-explanatory. Look at that guy. Sure, he may not be THE authority in Ra's plan, for example, but he does see himself in some position of power, and is quite protective of the physical comfort (his materials for the fear toxin) the alliance provided him, which is... quite shown when he drugs Falcone. He pretty much didn't want him to fucking bother them.

"do not like to waste time in direct confrontation with others, so they tend to pre-meditate and plan around potential conflict that may overwhelm them with negative emotion or dramatics" - quite self-explanatory too. He just doesn't seem to bother much, let's say.

There is, however, a quirk that I will mention in... a second. It doesn't change the basis but it does change a little thing.

2L: I believe this is, although the easiest one to understand, the hardest one to explain.

"FLEVs have a highly active relationship with the logic aspect. This type wastes no time digging into the details, particularly physical, of everything they observe. They tend to carefully consider information regardless of source, and interrelate it to all other sources and past experiences they have had with that particular idea. There is a hyperactivity present in willingness to entertain new possibilities and ideas surrounding logic that only few types can match. Along with the focus on logic, FLEVs can become collectors of philosophical ideas. Like all pentes, there is a strong focus on the past and how it compares to current ideas in humanity. [...] If their interests do not stretch that far back in history, they will instead tend towards endless breadth of outside opinions rather than depth. Regardless of their focus, this type does not stop collecting data and feeding it into the sensual vision of their life. FLEVs desire to share opinions and encourage others to join along, even if they strongly disagree with their ideas."

I believe it is quite self-explanatory, but I must say that FLEV's are easy to be passionate about philosophical ideas... does that ring a bell?

(this is from the wiki):

"Crane prepared himself to make a grand theory to prove that fear was the basis of all of humanity's errors and "cure" it by ushering mankind with the fear-induction within his hallucinogen into a true Garden of Eden where all of its worst fears came true and were conquered, with him as its benevolent ruler."

(I find the last bit quite silly. Not a big fan of it, but whatever, let's not get off topic)

To explain why his Logics is there I also want to point out about this on the Pente Sexta page (where FLEV is):

Process Emotion & Logic: Pentes prefer to process, discuss and partake in a journey through emotion and logic. You will often hear them conversing in depth about education, artistry, vocalization, communication and ideology.

I believe he's quite the calculative, meticulously sadistic villain... which makes him having a 2L and a 3E specifically (since the "process" is when things are on either 2 or 3 positions) make quite sense. "But why not 2E and 3L? Why is his emotion on 'insecure'? He seems so collected... and he's a psychiatrist!" that's what I'm going to delve into... NOW!

3E:

The simplest way that I could explain why he's 3E is that he does not see emotions as a good thing necessarily, and sees them more as tools to achieve goals (AKA emotional manipulation, but this is not the overall case for any 3E, I'm talking about Jonathan-fucking-Crane). But that's too vague. Let me once again copy paste the site's description:

"FLEVs tend to have a firmly concealed 3E attitude. This type often refuses to express their emotions and believes that this part of themselves must be saved for entirely safe situations where they cannot be criticized or thrown into emotional turmoil. They may attempt to feel safe by pointing out how hysterical others are and satirizing versions of what they believe are frenzied emotions. [...] FLEVs dislike any situation where emotions may cloud their own judgment or throw them into disappointment or negativity that they did not choose to partake in themselves. They often want a negative experience to have a purpose, and if nothing interesting or of value can be obtained from it, then it is better off left ignored. They can become dejected and sad looking, while refusing to verbalize the emotions held within unless it is aggression or anger."

Jonathan has this calculative, cold and annoying way because of this sort of thing: he sees these emotions as an obstacle. Also... "satirizing versions of what they believe are frenzied emotions"? Fucking hell! He's a smug looking ironic bastard that literally just threw a "not my diagnosis!" on Batman! Isn't that enough proof of how 3E he is???

(did you guys notice I'm really fucking bad at explaining things? Yeah)

4V:

Unbothered volition huh?

"But doesn't he have a goal? That world without fear?"

Well! First of all: take note on how physical this goal is, and how fear to Crane is seen as something on a more physical world than anything else (I believe his toxin shows that pretty well - someone who sees fear as an emotion wouldn't use a toxin that is made having in mind and as a sole objective the physical compensation and reactions. Being it a weird ass fetish or a cuiriosity on seeing how humans physically react to fear and how that physically affects the physical brain and physical world and how the emotions affect it and how he can use the emotions to cause physical reactions to YOU GET IT). And now read this:

FLEVs, like all pente types, can have a mixed state of first and fourth attitudes. They may have short bursts of inspiration to reach a desired future goal but will ultimately use this inspiration to serve a physical need that they value. FLEVs may be highly opinionated about what they like and dislike on an aesthetic level, but easily take orders from others if the goal is seen as useful. This can give off a confusing impression to those who have witnessed the pickiness of this type. Ultimately, the FLEV is open minded to possible future ventures, especially if there are details to obsess over. They may not want to waste time discussing goals as the process is less interesting than reaching a result, but they rarely shoot down opinions in this realm. FLEVs can be very hard workers since they are a 1F type, pushing their body to extremes to reach a coveted physical or environmental state, but there is rarely any extensive thought put into considering other options unless they come across a solution by chance.

The last bit can be ignored idk much about it but notice what's in bold.

AND HERE'S WHERE I'LL TALK ABOUTTTT!!!! THE QUIRK!!!!!:

Did you guys notice it? "Like all pente types"?

Did you notice how his motivations exist and are mixtured in the physical realm?

Now, I invite you to take a look at this bit from the wiki, that talks about the second movie on the trilogy:

"Batman tied up a strangely happy Scarecrow, possibly due to the fact that he felt fear when Batman arrived, [...]"

DID YOU NOTICE IT??? DID YOU NOTICE HOW IT'S A MIXED STATE OF F AND V??? HIS MOTIVATIONS ARE DRIVEN BY A PHYSICAL IDEA AND A PHYSICAL SENSATION... FEAR!

ALMOST FUCKING HEDONISTIC???? WHAT???w NOW REMEMBER WHAT THE INTRODUCTION TO FLEV SAID????

"They may come off as hedonistic,[...]"

DO YOUFUCKINGSEE IT????? His physical interest in the physical world when it comes to fear can COME OFF AS HEDONISTIC.

THIS IS THE STRONGEST ARGUMENT FOR WHY HE'S A FLEV!

For example, another type that I'd understand typing him is VLEF. And I genuenely get why. Genuenely, I do.

But I think this Scarecrow (and overall my favorite ones like BTAA) is more of a FLEV.

Reason being that (IN THIS CASE) the volition is not what causes the physical interest but vice versa. REMINDER THAT PHYSICAL WORLD IS MORE THAN SEX AND BEAUTY IT'S ALSO STUFF LIKE POWER AND FOOD AND YOU GET THE IDEA I DON'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE I'M GOING LIKE "yeah he's all about sex" OKAY????? I just think there's something deeply wrong with him.

I think a VLEF Scarecrow could be arkhamverse or Fear State ones. But I have not delved into that yet.

So yeah, I understand why one would believe he's a VLEF, but I believe other Scarecrows fit this archetype better than Nolanverse (and BTAA, my beloved<3), who is more of a FLEV.

Very aesthetic driven, one could say. I believe Scarecrows tend to vary between either VLEF or FLEV. At least my favorite ones.

THIS ONE IS A FLEV AND SO IS BTAA THO SO STFU PERSONALITY DATABASE IS WRONG!!!!!!!!! WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Conclusion

Hii. Heh.

I'm. pffhhf I'm done. Sorry.

I think this Jonathan was trying to do something, but had no time for it. He was used as a pretty face and now he's seen as a bad Scarecrow by many. But I don't believe so. I think he can be scary, and that he can be obsessed, and love the halloween aesthetic.

He's underrated, because even when he is the most mainstream one... barely anyone actually... talks about him. No character exploration, no manipulation, no scary disgusting guy... just... pretty face. Disappointing is not enough to describe how he is treated. I think he deserves better, in canon and fanon.

I started writing this when I was full of energy and not knowing where to throw it so this is probably a mess >_< sorry!

I'm not even a big fan of his. One of his biggest slanderers. But I do think he was done unfairly and that he deserves a second chance in my heart.

Thanks for reading!

#void #Jonathan Crane #<- holy shit me tagging something for once????#dw nolanverse crane fans this is actually quite defensive of him!#sorry for english spelling I'm too lazy to check it #and I have no respect for this language #why did I write this post I am in shambles with myself

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ultrahpfan5blog · 2 years

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Retrospective Review: Batman Begins

To me, Batman Begins was really my first foray into superhero movies that were not action driven. As someone who was a crazy Batman fan as a kid and enjoyed the Batman movies in the 90's to some degree or another, I was excited to see this. But I didn't know who Nolan or Bale was at the time. For me, Batman Begins, to this date, is the gold standard of superhero origin stories for me. There have been lots of great ones like Iron man, Spider-man, GOTG, CA: TFA etc.... but Batman Begins remains right at the top. I think this film hit me just at the right age. At 15 years old, I think I was just starting to be able to watch longer movies and more serious movies. For me, Batman Begins was the first superhero film that was completely devoid of camp. Even Spider-man and Spider-man 2, as much as I like them a lot, have an element of camp in them, all on purpose due to Raimi's style. But Nolan's Batman was just a very different superhero movie for me at the time and it definitely gave me a version of live action Batman that I didn't even know that I wanted.

What is I think the film's greatest strength is that it makes me very invested in Bruce Wayne's story. In all previous Batman films till then, I always wanted to get to the Batman action. Its one of the reasons Batman Returns annoyed me so much, because Batman was barely around for half the movie. In this movie, Batman doesn't make his official costumed appearance until about an hour into the movie. But that first hour is gripping to me. The film wastes no time showing us who Bruce Wayne is. I love the prison fight scene because it establishes immediately that Bruce is incredibly skilled and isn't scared of any of these prisoners. They are child's play to him. So he is immediately a badass. I was sold on Bale from scene 1 due to this scene. The first hour explores his training with Ducard while flashing back to Bruce as a child and his trauma with the Bats in the cave, which indirectly led to the shooting of his parents in front of them. These flashback sequences are very key because Thomas Wayne is fleshed out a bit. We get to see a little bit of the relationship between Bruce and his father. It created an attachment for us to these characters which was missing in past and future versions of this incident. The flashbacks in Batman 89 were there more to showcase Jack Napier than to concentrate on the actual incident with Bruce, and the BvS version actually makes me annoyed with Thomas Wayne given he recklessly endangered his family. I liked the portrayal of Thomas Wayne in this movie as a calm, measured, and kind man and the shooting incident is actually portrayed really well. It happens just as fast and as suddenly as it might happen in real world. The flashbacks also sets up the various connections Bruce would have in the future with Gordon, obviously with Alfred, and with Rachel. It also sets up Bruce's revulsion of guns. I like how this storyline ties in with Carmine Falcone as the crime lord right at the center of it all, and how the confrontation with Falcone gives Bruce the jolt to set off on his journey. The training scenes are also terrific. I love the scene on the ice when Ducard says Thomas Wayne was the reason why the parents died. The expression of anger and shock on Bruce's face was brilliant, as if the sequence where Bruce burns down the league of shadows headquarters after refusing to kill someone.

Once Bruce returns to Gotham, the film very quickly and effectively establishes what the status of the city is. You feel that this is a city rotting on the inside. Gordon is the one good and honest cop, who is watching helplessly as cops like Flass abuse their power. Rachel and the DA continue to fight a losing battle while Jonathan Crane continues to keep Falcone's thugs out of prison due to his medical evaluations. The film does a nice job of showing how Bruce integrates back into society, first through meeting Fox and getting access to the technology he needs to get to his goals. What I loved about Nolan's Batman is that it actually uses a slew of Batman supporting characters in key ways. While Gough's had been a a crucial helping hand in Burton/Schumacher movies, Gordon has been a bit of joke. This film establishes use of Alfred as a very crucial supporting figure, who acts both as a parent and support system for Bruce, and makes Gordon and Fox both very essential cogs in Bruce's crime fighting operation. Watching Bruce build his suit is awesome and his first appearance is one of my favorite Batman scene till date. Its film purposefully in a manner that show him as almost a demon or a ghost that the thugs can't see. I love the scene of the thug screaming "where are you?" and he backs into Batman and we see his mask for the first time. The full reveal, when he captures Falcone, is awesome. The Begins bat suit is really badass and is my favorite Bat suit till date. The panning shot of the makeshift Bat signal and the shot of Batman perched like a Gargoyle are iconic shots in my book. I love how the film reintegrates aspects of the film from the first half, like Crane's scare gas being derived from the blue flower Bruce dealt with earlier, and how the twist of Ducard really being Ra's is revealed. Scarecrow is also an ingenious reinvention. Its such a simple way of making Scarecrow so effective and pretty frightening, despite not being physically intimidating. The scene of Batman summoning the Bats is something very much out of Year One. There is an epic chase scene where we see the Tumbler being used for the first time. Again, its my favorite batmobile. The entire last act is exciting and while it does have a slightly comic-booky sensibility, for Ra's to vaporize the water supply so that the fear gas infects all of Gotham, it makes sense given what Ra's wanted to accomplish. The train fight between Ra's and Batman is cool, as is the way Batman and Gordon stop him. The film then ends on what is honestly the best sequel tease that I have ever scene, again very much inspired by Year One, with Gordon and Batman discussing the presence of Joker. Its a fantastic ending and I couldn't wait for what came next. What came next turned out to be amazing as well.

Now, no film is flawless. I have some minor issues with the film. The biggest of which is the actual action. Nolan is not a great action director. I feel that is a fair assessment. His action scenes stand out because there is a lot of weight behind those characters. Some of the chase sequences are terrific, but the actual hand to hand fighting is not that great. Its clear not what he's best at and it showed in future films as well. Some of the editing is a little iffy, where the scenes abruptly cut from one scene to another. The character of Rachel Dawes is also a little bland. She is not terrible, but, as a love interest, she doesn't stand out.

What Nolan did expertly is he got a lot of really well respected actors into this movie. In the 90's, a lot of the concentration was to bring some of the biggest stars to play the villain roles, whether they are well cast or not, but Nolan brings in some serious pedigree to this film. Christan Bale is fantastic in this film. In my opinion, it is the single best performance by an actor in this role. I love everything he does in this film. While future films became more an ensemble, this film largely is on his shoulders. He delivers an entire arc, from him as a youthful, vengeful young guy, to the guy in training, to Batman, to the Bruce Wayne playboy facade. He brings a beastlike presence as Batman. I know people like to mock his voice but I think it was terrific in Batman Begins. He definitely showed the physical presence and ferocity in the role. There is a whose who of acting thespians surrounding him. Michael Caine is amazing as Alfred. There have been really good Alfred's in Michael Gough and Jeremy Irons but Caine is my favorite. He's witty but also serious. His relationship with Bale has a lot of warmth and fatherly love. I discovered Gary Oldman through this movie. He is fantastic as Gordon. JK Simmons and Jeffrey Wright have some tough shoes to fill. Morgan Freeman is charming and charismatic as Lucius Fox. He plays the role with a delightful twinkle in his eye, but at no point is he winking at the camera. Cillian Murphy as Crane/Scarecrow is a delightful surprise. He's just the right amount of creepy outside of the mask. Liam Neeson as Ducard who ends up being Ra's is a formidable presence. He just has it with his voice. You actually like him as Ducard and the twist that he is really Ra's works because he's so effective in the role. Katie Holmes is the one person who is a bit miscast in the role. I don't think she's as bad as people make her out to be. She just doesn't fit in the role of this tough ADA character that she's supposed to be and she comes across very judgmental of Bruce. Some of her delivery is not great. She also doesn't have that much chemistry with Bale. But I think most of this is down to the character being rather flat because I don't think Maggie fared any better in TDK. There are also thespians like Rutger Hauer the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone, and Ken Watanabe as decoy Ra's, all great.

All in all this film really gave me everything that I could have possible wanted in a Batman origin story and it left me wanting more. It definitely introduced me to Nolan and Bale, whose careers I have followed and enjoyed till date. Both Nolan and Bale became big names starting with this movie. The music by Hanz Zimmer and James Newton Howard is iconic to me and it kind of got me into listening to film scores. For me, this ranks right towards the top of superhero movies. A 9/10.

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