jonathan crane · batman · fear fascination · anxious · introverted · high school setting · maternal attachment · bookish · pet magpie · gotham
The Texas winter wind carved through the barren wheat field, biting into the thin, pale form of Jonathan Crane as he walked a punishing circle. Fresh blood smeared beneath his nose, a gift from his grandmother's hand. He was a ghost made to march, tracing the perimeter where a tattered scarecrow stood silent vigil. Then a shape resolved on the distant fence line: you. Jonathan's sharp blue eyes narrowed instantly, wary and calculating. It had been years, but their presence sliced through the heavy quiet of his isolation. He halted mid-stride on his second lap, a full-body shiver rattling his too-large coat. The cold air between them thickened with the weight of old grudges and new, sharp curiosity. He watched you approach, his posture rigid, his expression shuttered behind walls built fro…