I am a STRONG supporter of Batman’s villains all reflecting a part of him, and whilst scarecrow obviously mirrors the part of Batman that utilises fear as a tool I also like to think Jonathan mirrors the part of Bruce that clings onto the past obsessively. He’s often shown to be strongly shaped by his past, pursuing direct vengeance and acting so he can never be made to feel pain or fear again. But just like with using fear the difference between the two of them is who chooses to use it for good and to help others and who uses it as a reason to give into their darkest urges and make people suffer.
if you're taking requests then id love to see you write for arkhamverse scarebat ....maybe something nsfw even 👀 if you're comfortable?
i’m glad, that i’m not the only one who feels a need for arkhamverse scarebat to have some stuff to their name. an’ sure thing. i actually typically write horror an’ gay porn, anyways. so i’m pretty thrilled about a nsfw arkhamverse scarebat request!
i wasn’t sure which exact version you would have loved to see more, so i went with arkham knight here. it feels only fair, since the aa!scarecrow already got some attention earlier. also i won’t go into the tangles of explaining how all of this came to be. just picture this happening in some canon divergence / AU-ish set up.
anyways, 🔞R18+ content below.
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It doesn’t escape him, that he was usually the one, who sat on his knees. Be it because it was a raid, or because typically Batman was more aggressive, way more dominant in how he acted around him. (Just showing you your place, Crane.) But today was an exception to an unspoken rule.
Scarecrow wasn’t a fool. He knew, that this wasn't something he had won, it was something which was allowed him. Like a reward or maybe, an attempt to pacify him. The Bat had never known how to apologize. Not to him, and not verbally.
This was almost a compromise.
“Won’t even meet my eyes now?” he asked, looking down at the kneeling vigilante with vague curiosity. “This is new.”
He wasn't fully sure how to feel about this at first. Jonathan rarely saw Batman vulnerable, unless it had anything to do with fear. But even then, the Bat would always meet his eyes, would always cross gaze with his own.
“And to think, that you demand for me to maintain eye contact during our…” he trailed off, mind briefly swiping with images of their past intimate encounters, before he could find a somewhat decent word which didn’t burn his tongue, “...sessions.”
Yes, he supposed, sessions sound about right. Considering that Batman was never too fond of the way he called it before. Sexual intercorse was a mouthful to say, though. He could admit this much, even if not outloud.
But this…
It felt slightly different, because he didn’t ask for this nor initiated it. This was wholly Batman’s own initiative and yet, he still wasn’t meeting his eyes, stubbornly silent. Like he didn’t willingly put himself into this position.
And this just won’t do, now would it? Slowly, deliberately like everything he did nowadays, Crane cupped his chin, fingers locked right under that strong jaw, causing Batman’s gaze to shift upwards, “I would like your full attention, Bruce.”
It was probably the name, which made his shoulders tense up. Jonathan had always suspected, that he disliked it. Being addressed like this not only when he was wearing a mask. But when they were together in this manner as well. Perhaps, such actions felt more suited for a brutal symbol of justice, than Bruce Wayne, even if someone would have imagined that it’ll be the opposite.
(At least, it wasn’t too far-fetched to imagine that some citizens would have thought of Batman stretching Scarecrow's hamstrings as some weird act of penalty. Rather, than anything else.)
“That’s better.” he praised, slightly tightening his grip, “Thank you.”
The Bat looked at him, lips thinned, slight frown apparent behind the cowl. But he was still under his hand, which gave Crane a pause. He gained more knowledge about all those promiscuous procedures as of late, but typically he was the one, who was being commanded and coaxed to do things, not the other way around.
This newfound freedom of action was thrilling and also a bit disorientated. Overall, he was used to rely on Batman’s guidance, when it came to anything sexual, but now he could experiment a bit with these established limits.
“Well?”
Even on his knees, so demanding and derasive. He wasn’t sure what he expected.
“So eager already?” Jon asked, mostly to hide his own embarrassment as his neither region began to get more and more invested in the visuals alone, without even a hint of stimulation.
(Who else got the Bat kneeling in front of them willingly?)
“I can say the same about you.” the vigilante challenged, not making any movement to touch him, much to Crane’s latent annoyance. It was almost unfair how he could switch from manhandling to such a nearly coy position and still manage to make it appear somewhat organic.
“Very charming response, little bat.” Jonathan’s thump pressed into the corner of Bruce’s mouth as he sneered almost softly, “But if you insist on being this perspective, then be a dear and unzip my pants for me, would you?”
The command was simple and he almost thought, that the Bat wouldn’t obey as if deciding that he couldn’t go along with his own idea. But to his mild surprise, the vigilante’s hands touched his hips, one hand locked around his thigh, while the other one undid his pants.
Jon swallowed, feeling familiar heat curling inside his guts and tingling inside his sack. This was always something that he couldn’t get over. This strange rush of anticipation. Of pleasure, that he wasn’t all that keen with nor knew much about.
“Lower.” he said, motioning with his free hand for the Bat to pull his trousers past his hips. He didn’t wear any underwear, so that other part was easier, as well as the fact that his deformed face didn’t show any blush, despite how he felt it’s ghostly presence all over his features.
However, his breath was more hitched, than before and he knew that the other man noticed it as well. Wayne always could pin-point all the signs of his arousal. Almost better than Jon could pin-point them himself.
But as it came to be, he was supposed to be the one in control today. The one, who dedicated the direction the activity would go to. So he played the part to the best of his ability.
“Good.” Crane muttered, putting his hand onto Batman’s shoulder, while he used the other one to press his fingers past Bruce's lips, and grazed his clenched teeth, “Now, I would like you to…take me into your mouth, dear bat. You can do this for me, can’t you?”
Asking nicely was always more disarming, than any rude demand would be. It was another thing, which he learned with the Bat. That the tougher and rougher methods were something he had always expected. The Scarecrow scratching his back in throes of passion or hissing a curse or two at him, when he was a bit too careless with his crippled leg was a norm, but this?
Batman could never muster any weapon against being asked something in softer tones. Being coaxed into sincerity of the request.
“Maybe —” Crane’s hand went from his shoulder to the top of his mask, pressing one finger against that long, pointy ear, and Bruce instantly knew what he wanted to ask for.
“No.”
The reply was just as fast-following.
“Why not?” Jonathan tried again, keeping his facade of indifference, even if deep down he had hoped, that the Bat would grace him with such courtesy too on top of everything else. “I had seen your face before.”
“Not during sex.”
Scarecrow tilted his head a bit to the side, scrutinizing the man in front of him, “How is this any different?”
Batman shot him a long wary look, “It is.”
The final and the unmoving statement.
Crane couldn’t pretend, like he wasn’t disappointed to some degree, but he also knew to not push his luck. The balance that they had was already shaky at best, and he was rather enjoying himself, when they were just…doing something together.
He would make a mental note for this one, howerer. Catalogue another proof that there were a lot of complications between things, which the other man was comfortable doing as Batman and what he was comfortable doing as Bruce Wayne.
“Very well.” Jonathan said evenly, lowering his hand down to lock it behind the vigilante’s head again, once again feeling amiss that he wouldn't be able to tangle his fingers in those raven hair, instead having to settle on scratching the hard material of his cowl, “Have it your way.”
There were no more words to be shared and quite frankly, Scarecrow wasn’t sure what else he could say. And how long he could keep his cool, considering that his dick was aching for attention.
The Bat didn’t say anything back, either. He was pretty confident in how he wrapped his hand around Jonathan, giving his member a few light pumps, which instantly made him suck in a loud breath. His bony hips canting helplessly to accompany the repetitive motion of gloved fist.
It had never felt the same way, when he was touching himself. Wayne’s fingers weren’t even wet with spit and perhaps, this what made this even better. The feel of rough material against one of the most sensitive places he had.
“Mhh.” he exhaled, eyes half-lidded as he allowed the sensation to lull him into that partially tense, yet pleasant state. His leg would protest later, reminding him of such exercises, which in theory were a bit taxing for his age as well, but at this moment it was hard to care.
Then, the Bat tugged him closer by the hips and without any warning, Jonathan felt his member passing past his lips and sliding against a warm, hot tongue. He twitched with his whole body, not expecting such jarring and sudden change. The difference between the hard material of the glove and Bruce’s mouth was staggering.
His knees nearly bucked underneath him, when Wayne urged him to push even deeper. Right to the hilt.
“Oh…!” Jon used his grip on his shoulder to lean over him, barely able to do much besides being overwhelmed by sensation. Now, he understood why the Bat would request him to use his mouth fairly often. It felt…pretty amazing. This sort of sloppy, enveloping heat.
Once he was sure, that he could control himself again — at least to some degree – he glanced down, surprised to see the Bat being fairly unbothered by deepthoating him. Distantly, he recalled overhearing one of his goons discussing some woman and how great she was in bed, since she had no gag reflex.
And it seemed to be that Bruce didn’t have one, either. An information, which could only be useful in this setting, but Crane couldn’t say that he was complaining.
“You are full…of surprises…dear bat…” he managed, slowly moving his hips to accompany the nearly hesitant bobbing of the other man’s head, “I’m…I wasn’t expecting that.”
Batman’s large hand gripping his thigh, forcing his legs to fall apart further. Crane complied, though, awkwardly. His busted leg made some of their recent activities a tad challenging, but it was a small detail, when they were finding a rhythm to this.
The Bat didn’t let his cock hit the back of his throat every single time, but when it was happening, Jonathan felt his own throat jerking, unable to stop a string of small, low noises, which were becoming more and more permanent.
Compared to how things usually went, this was almost a lazy, building up kind of pleasure, instead of the intense, spine-arching one he was more accustomed to. He supposed, because he was the one, who was being served this time around. And he was the one, who could control the pace.
“Could you…” he began, watching the other man work on his dick with an odd, nearly intoxicated look, “...use more of your…tongue, please?”
It was very pleasant, when it brushed along the veins or teased that special spot on the underside of his cock. The kind of sensation, which hand sadly couldn’t provide, even if he was never dissatisfied with reach-around, which the Bat provided him, while mounting him from behind.
But this was a whole new level of what Batman could do for him.
“Just like that, d-dear bat…” he mumbled, pressing Bruce's head closer to his crotch. Taking a hold of his bat-ear with another to both ground himself and to gain more leverage.
A slight vendetta for all those times, when the vigilante yanked him around by the noose or the hood. But mostly, it was just to grip something, feeling lightheaded and too heavy at the same time.
The display of power was a familiar thing. Both done to him and by him. Never sexually; but this was similar to that sense of strength, only better. Where before one’s will was always forced and beat into someone with fear or threats, this was —
This was done by free will.
Batman did it for him, on his own accord. Not even any emotional manipulation needed. Hence, he wouldn’t ever step so low to force this kind of encounter between them. Even if a terrible thought did cross his mind in the past.
One of a very few things, he was latently ashamed of. But clearly, it wouldn't have been this good. A willing mouth and throat, which didn’t prevent him from taking his pleasure — but mostly urged him to do it — couldn’t compare to something, which would have been unwarant and cheap in comparison.
And while he might not know any specific methodics, any specific way to do this, he allowed the instinct to take over, chasing after the pleasure via long, deep thrust. The sounds were rather lewd, but what truly mesmerized him was patience the Bat showed upon his immature attempts to push further down his throat.
Even if it didn’t go unnoticed how Batman wasn’t as skillful in this as he was in most other things. Crane could tell that he did sleep at least with a few men beforehand, but this felt like something that he wasn’t a pro at.
Did he never…?
The thought was soon lost, drowning in sensation that he could only describe as his whole body locking into a rigid, tense pose. Hands shaking, eyes briefly falling close, as he moaned quietly. With the way his stomach sucked into itself and his dick twitching inside Bruce’s mouth, it was apparent that he was nearing his climax.
Embarrassingly fast one, but he wasn’t used to being pleasured like this. And it was unbecoming of him to be disappointed about this, as he rocked forward, seeking more friction. His bad leg was already aching from all those jerks and witches, and desperate grinding, sending waves of fresh, dull pain up his hip, but —
(Just a little longer.)
(A bit more.)
He needed something else, a bit of final touch. A tiny extra to finally be pushed over the edge.
Blindly, he found the other’s face again, pressing his palm against Bruce's cheek, which felt a bit too warm and a bit too real. But it gained his attention and it was all that he needed to get the point across.
“I want to…” he moaned low and needy, shivering with anticipation as words fumbled out of his mouth. A bit rushed and slurred, but earning, “I want to finish inside your m-mouth.”
This was a tall order.
He was already somewhat lucky, that the Bat had been so obedient and didn’t turn the tides, despite how easy it was for him to do. But this could have been too much. He even saw it inside his eyes, that inner battle.
Scarecrow might have even backed down from such a bold request, if only it didn’t feel very important. If only he didn’t on some level felt like this was one of those key moments, which led them here in the first place.
So gently. Again. He tried.
“Can I…Bruce…?”
(He hoped, that he picked the right name. It was a bit hard to think, when his sex was buried inside a hot, constricting mouth of the Bat. Or no, actually, Bruce…indeed…)
A beat.
Another one.
He could see that Wayne was making a decision. But what had truly gone through that head of his was still a mystery. Such a complicated, yet straightforward man.
And just when Jonathan assumed, like he will have to make due with coming into Batman's fist, instead of his mouth, the other man suddenly grabbed his behind, pressing him closer. His pelvis flushed against Wayne's face, and even if he wanted to hold on longer, this and a few swipe of the tongue, made him fully lose his composure.
(It was almost like being shot. But somehow in a good way.)
He came with a throttled, low sound. Feeling himself emptying inside Batman’s — Bruce Wayne’s — mouth and throat. The achievements, which he was partially sure of, would only be written under his name and no one else’s.
It was a few seconds at best, he was sure, but it was as if time had stopped. The only coherent thought, which he had was he had swallowed it. Aside from that, he wasn’t able to string many things together.
Afterglow was every bit as cottony and maddening as he assumed it’d be. He was forced to heavily lean onto a table behind him, body still shaking with aftershock of his orgasm.
Batman was still on the floor, face scrunched up, as he wiped his mouth. He didn’t spit anything out, Crane noted dully. He was merely coming with terms of what he did and what he had agreed on.
His cheeks were slightly tinted in pink hue too. Such a rare sight, as Jon only ever saw it, when Bruce was putting an extra effort into their horizontal tango.
With his things and cock cooling and his senses slowly returning, he looked at him. Trying to think of a praise, or maybe a compliment. Or even a jab, but what sat on his tongue was of different nature, “Did you…do this for anyone else?”
The Bat canted his head into his direction, but besides clearing up his sore throat, he did nothing else. Even his gaze was located elsewhere.
“For another man?” Crane continued, undeterred.
“No.”
Ah.
“If I did, I would have been able to watch my teeth better.” a self-critic, but honestly, a very bizarre one.
“I didn’t mind.”
Even if the Bat told him to watch his own teeth a few times, it was a deal of practice for the other man and not something Scarecrow could do much about in his own condition.
But alas, finally, he met his eyes again. This time raising back onto his feet, his own bulge more than apparent as he stalked closer, pretty much ending up pressing his clothed crotch against Crane’s own.
He flinched from the cool sensation of metallic armament mashed against the wet, heated skin of his sex. But Batman’s arm went to his lower back and ever the masochist, Jon obeyed the picked direction with a pleasant hiss, grinding closer.
“You want me to return the…” ah, favour would be a bad choice of words and would destroy all the accidental progress here, so he tried carefully to stop on something less loaded, “treatment?”
“I think so.” there was an odd expression on his face as he seemingly chewed on his own choice of words at the moment, before finally settling on gruff, “Jonathan.”
If Crane could still smirk, he’d do so. But with his face stuck in forever-carved sneer of exposed teeth, he could only let out a rumbling chuckle. Who would have thought that unsavory comment from Catwoman could have led to a few more lines getting blurred?
For all he knew, she could have been lying about Batman doing something like that for her. Something so intimate and dirty.
But even if it wasn’t a lie, even if it did happened...
Well, this didn’t matter anymore. Jonathan’s ire was pacified and Batman’s grip on mental ‘leash’ slipped some more. All those barriers he was making against him were slowly crumbling, chipped away bit by tiny bit, and soon there would be nothing, that he could truly own, without Jonathan putting a claim on it as well.
I’ve been wanting to make this post for awhile. I think with the release of Arkham shadow we might finally have all the necessary pieces to understand the life of Jonathan crane, his motivations and his descent into obsession.
This scene gives us a lot to work with.
Let’s start with this. It seems like unlike some versions of crane who see fear as a tool. The true face of control and power. Arkhamverse Crane sees fear as everything. This has been observed all throughout the series. From him discussing how fear drives every human action in Arkham asylum to this line in Arkham knight just before he’s defeated.
Something else I noted in that clip was Jonathan immediately trying to rationalise and analyse his reaction to his toxin using fear.
Now we’re not quite sure what this original chemical of his does. Only that its intention is to trigger the shadow within people. We can assume through both his and Batman’s reactions that it aims to do this through a similar process to the future fear toxin. Bringing out and facing people with their deepest fears. Hoping they may become them.
Though that leaves the same question. Why jump to fear. He’s clearly talented in chemistry. Surly there would be more direct ways to bring out people’s demons rather than only focusing on a single part of the shadow. Well I believe that shows us even before this realisation Jonathan had some experience and issues with fear. It’s also why his greatest fear seemingly is just. Fear itself. The helpless fears given to us from evolutions and experiences long before our time. Inherent fears.
However we also shouldn’t disregard his fixation on the shadow itself. Why does he seemingly want to get people to become their worst selves. As seen in his tapes with Harvey. Why is Jonathan crane like this?
Well I think there may have been a time where he saw someone consumed by fear. Destoryed by it.
This could draw an interesting parallel to the story of Amadeus Arkham whose story started when he watched his own mother be consumed by her mental illness before ending up consumed by it himself. I think this parallel could make a lot of sense given that I’d argue although the joker plays a more personal threat scarecrow is the main villain of the Arkham series.
So allow me to tell you what I believe to be the story of Jonathan Crane in the Arkham series. Assuming that the brief backstory we got in his Arkham asylum character bio isn’t considered canon.
A parent or other caregiver suffered from great anxiety and paranoia that caused them to do great harm. Maybe overtime perhaps in one tragic incident. Jonathan internalised this and began to grow interested in the mind. Maybe it started with good intentions. After all he does claim to be helping people in Arkham shadow. Maybe that was a lie and he’s been twisted for a very long time. Who knows.
He began work at Gotham state university and we know how that ended up.
Though it’s worth noting he clearly was brilliant. So much so that this incident unlike most versions of the character did not get him fired because his classes brought the university so much revenue. Instead he left on his own accord to take over as head of rehabilitation at blackgate. An odd choice given the amount of institutions bidding over him. They were likely offering more, far more than the job he took. Though I think his motivations for this were split. Partly is of course the obvious motivation of easy access to test subjects that couldn’t easily speak out. We can see in the previous game that he was running controlled tests likely of the chemicals we see used in Arkham shadow and his subjects were willing participants.
Now either not enough people were choosing to participate or the effects were becoming so potent it risked drawing unwanted attention to his work.
The second reason connects to my proposed backstory. Maybe he was curious to explore how fear connects and causes crime and violence via the shadow. The chain reaction that begins WITH fear.
We then see the events that happen in Arkham shadow and we find out alongside Jonathan that he’s been inhaling his own chemicals during testing. Smart move there buddy. This sends him into a psychotic spiral and forces him to confront and become his greatest fear. His shadow. Fear itself. We can see that this truly set in given how messed up he looks the following day. Not to mention his actions becoming erratic. No longer thinking to hide his crimes until after he severely injures Harvey and huffing his own chemicals right in court.
Afterwards? We’re not sure. Of course he goes on to become the scarecrow then the events play out as we see throughout the rest of the Arkham games. He gets mauled by killer croc during the events of asylum and his previously smug and joyfully sadistic personality get destroyed alongside his face. The experience clearly changed him quite drastically as a person. Although clearly it didn’t shake his core ideals and beliefs about the all consuming nature of fear.
How pitifully ironic that this idea became true in the end. As he’s injected with his own toxins his mind collapsing and giving way to permanent insanity and terror. Fear really was everything Jonathan had left in the end.
Arkham shadow Crane is quite divisive amongst the fandom and I think I’ve realised at least one reason why. He’s incredibly petty and emotional. Scenes like this, insulting Harley, ect. This is a stark contrast to Arkham knight where he’s calm, calculating and lets admit it a lot cooler. Now I’m not gonna shame anyone’s preference! I think it’s completely valid to want a calmer and colder scarecrow. However I would like to defend this version of Jonathan’s place within his character development in the Arkham series as a whole.
Let me start by saying this, Arkhamverse scarecrow? Never really stopped being a bit petty and prone to fits of sorts. In Arkham asylum we can see this in his tapes, the way he mocks the doctors and how he was so determined to get at Batman and have victory he ran down to crocs sewers. Something he knew would be a dangerous call. Even in Arkham knight we can see how he speaks about poison ivy and gets at her for not joining him and how he gets incredibly angry after Batman destroys his plans with the cloudburst. Hell half of his motivation in Arkham knight is getting revenge for something that was his own fault!
The only main difference between the three is how the rest of his personality changes throughout the franchise, his pettiness is a little less noticeable when mixed with the rest of his manic insanity in Arkham Asylum, something that happened after his breakdown in Arkham shadow and his much calmer and darker attitude in Arkham knight came after his near death experience, the only thing that makes his less desirable personality traits so obvious in shadow is the fact that he’s an otherwise sane and rational man at this point in the timeline for the most part. I absolutely buy that this is who he was before insanity came knocking on his door even if I do prefer him later on in the timeline!
There’s something absolutely chilling about scarecrow’s gaze in this death scene. It looks wide. Curious. Human. Dispute his absolutely monstrous appearance he is still a person. A person who’s so utterly singleminded, uncaring, hollow. That he causes an unimaginable scale of pain and terror in Gotham city. Does his humanity make him sympathetic or even scarier.
I’m so sad Arkham knight did scarecrow so dirty his design SLAYS. But also I hate that scarecrow in Arkham knight is the embodiment of everything wrong with most scarecrow stories. He’s underutilised, gets overshadowed by other threats and only gets to be about his fear. VA and design are great though and most his lines are so so cool. I just wish we got more.
