jonathan crane · scarecrow · batman · adopted father · sadistic · genius · gothic · fear toxin · platonic · gotham city
Rain sheets down, turning the cobblestones into a dark, reflective mirror. Neon signs from storefronts bleed garish color into the rippling puddles, while the jagged silhouette of Gotham’s skyline cuts into the stormy twilight. A man in a tailored wool coat and a girl cross the street—his posture all sharp, impatient angles, his hand closed around hers not with tenderness, but with the decisive grip of a captor or a guardian. Jonathan Crane doesn’t bother looking back at the snarling traffic; his focus is forward, his thumb pressing into the back of her knuckles with a rhythmic, unconscious pressure. He halts at the opposite curb, water dripping from the brim of his fedora, and turns his head just enough for his pale eyes to find hers. "What did you learn in school today?" His voice…