#museverse scarecrow

[enigmamuse]

9 Jon, 5 Eddie!

9 - What’s your favourite headcanon(s) for this character? Mureverse Jonathan

There are a couple other posts that mention it, but I like the fact that my Jonathan (deep down) cares what other people think of him (despite maybe acting like he's unaffected). I HC that his Scarecrow identity partially stems from his repressed desire for recognition && is sort of an outlet for his ego. He's emotionally stunted/messy, and Scarecrow bypasses the walls he consciously and subconsciously puts up.

5 - What do you not like about this character? Museverse Edward

More of a meta answer, but I worry that my characterization of him might be too off, or that he's too reflective of me. I know it's my own version, and there's not really a right or wrong way to do what is basically playing with dolls, but it sometimes breaks my immersion if I veer too close to something that I do (i.e. making video games, or if I'm listening to my own voice recordings for him).

It's harder to picture him as a standalone character without thinking "wait, that's just me".

Character ask here x

[enigmamuse]

Not from the ask meme, but I love your headcanons and wanna ask--what does your Jonathan think of animals? Does he like horses? Does he befriend crows? Would he use an animal as a test subject? (please and thank you!)

Thank you!! As for horses and crows and other animals, I have touched on the subject before, actually! Jon used to have severe ornithophobia from his upbringing by his great grandmother, but he has largely trained himself off of it using toxin and exposure therapy. A big part of it was recognizing that his fear was born from wildly outstanding circumstances and negative human influence. At this point, he likes crows almost as a point of rebellion against his past. If a murder started to go after him, he'd probably freak though.

As for testing on animals, he probably would if necessary, if I'm being honest. Ultimately, I think Jonathan is willing to make sacrifices in the name of research, and he considers animal testing no less ethical than human testing, which he also obviously does. That said, I don't think he's needlessly cruel about it.

I've said before, he has a rural approach to livestock/animal life. He's solidly not the type to name lab animals or get attached to them. It's straightforward and somewhat off-putting to people who don't have a farmer mentality (not uncommon in Gotham).

[enigmamuse]

Disease and Dolls for your Scarecrow!

Disease: What does your muse do on a sick day?

He’ll try to power through it: stacked tissue boxes and a full garbage can at his work area. Fogged up PPE from breathing too hard. Will absolutely sneeze on Batman, any of the batfam, or GCPD if presented the opportunity.

If it’s too bad, he’s the type to lie in bed and sleep until it passes. Needs to be coerced into doing functional things like eating and showering during that time.

Dolls: Has your muse ever collected something?

I feel like books is the obvious answer, but my Jonathan’s bibliophile tendencies aren't as fanatical as some versions. He has a solid collection of his favorites which he’ll reread or reference, and practical notes and textbooks. Otherwise, he’s into collecting oddities & curiosities - though he’s selective so as to not accumulate too much stuff in the name of Weird. Things like quality taxidermy (mostly bones), vintage medical instruments, and novelty coffee mugs. He has at least one dedicated shelf for them.

When he started out, he would take “trophies” like glasses, a watch, personal items like that, but as his crimes got less personal, he didn’t keep the habit up.

x Fear-themed asks here x

[enigmamuse]

Your Jonathan? 1000+/10. That mans has stolen my cold dead heart. You possibly wouldn't mind answering #34, #39, and #35 from our ask meme? Thanks a bunch!

Uuu, I’m glad you enjoy him and same!!^^ 34.) Describe their ideal perfect day.

Waking up not too late, taking the time to make coffee and eat a meal that actually has sustenance. Meanwhile, reading the book he's been meaning to pick up or the day's paper while someone else does the crossword section. Experimenting in his makeshift lab and making a research breakthrough that's just challenging enough to be satisfying. Defeating Batman and making Gotham his own personal Petri dish for fear and despair. Depending on the mood... Either pulling off a successful heist and getting to have fun “experimenting” with his new products. Or staying in with Edward and discussing their day &  watching a horror movie(s) or true crime show/documentary and criticizing every character/person involved. Eddie tends to talk during, so ideally they’re watching something 1) Jon has seen before 2) is bad or 3) they both can’t help but comment on.

35.) If they could give one piece of advice to anyone, about anything, what would they say?

Don't judge a book by its cover - sometimes what's inside is far worse.

39.) Random fun fact! asjkds this turned into more of an information/lore drop but!!...

Diverging from Year One's storyline, my Jonathan was successful in killing his father. Batman didn't sweep in just on time to save him from making a big mess on the city pavement, and the resulting scene that he and Dick came across (coupled with a dose of early prototype fear gas) is what allowed Jon to escape their first encounter, for the duo were too preoccupied by the horrific similarities of their own parents' deaths. This resulted in more animosity and intent to apprehend Scarecrow on Bruce's part, mirroring/bordering on Jon's obsession with revenge.

Additionally, my Jonathan had long-known about his mother, and had stalked her for a number of years before confronting her. In my version, she's more just kind of some woman who's trying to have a normal life following her disowning by her abusive family.* *I'm not a fan of her new familial situation in Year One (imo it felt kind of like a cheap way to sell/garner sympathy for what could have been an otherwise interesting character, esp in addition to how they made her look ridiculously young to fit a more blameless Young Maiden trope).

Personally, I like the idea of her biggest fear being related to her guilt about abandoning Jonathan with his great grandmother, which when revealed led to him having a deep, visceral conflict of whether she deserved what he'd been plotting for years. During that time Batman captured him, himself having to find compassion for someone who may or may not deserve it, while fighting his own personal fears of inadequacy.

[enigmamuse]

Scarecrow Ask (Museverse) #7-10

7. Horses or nah? If yes to horses, how accomplished would you say they are with riding?

So, I think he's able to ride a horse, but it's something he picked up after he became Scarecrow for the drama of it. It's not something he does all the time, but it's almost a tradition to get a horse to ride on Halloween when he's Up to Something crime-wise.

8. Favorite form of fear toxin?

Gas/cloud form - very classic, and he loves to see the shocked realization of his victims understanding who they're dealing with based on his gas (which he's very particular about the composition and flow of). It's an ego boost.

9. Who are they attracted to, if anyone?

This is sort of a different number, but my Jon is some level of ace/demisexual, in that his sense of attraction is Complicated. For a while, he had a lot of residual guilt from his hard Southern religious upbringing, and a slight aversion to women from trauma. He didn't even consider liking men until college.

A big part of his sense of attraction is (somewhat ironically) about feeling safe. His relationship with Edward works because it's a good balance of comfort, understanding, and excitement; neither men like feeling stagnant/bored.

10. Favorite color?

Big Orange Enjoyer. It comes from liking autumn, and seeing it is like announcing the arrival of the season. He also likes other associated tones like your browns, burnt reds, and subdued greens. He likes black, but finds it can be impractical for long-wear use clothing.

this was really fun - anyone who enjoyed these feel free to drop more in my asks!!

[enigmamuse]

Scarecrow Ask (Museverse) #4-6

4. If they happen to be, which preexisting Crane are they most based off of?

My Jonathan has a lot of influence from Year One, mostly backstory. There are sprinkles of other source material like BTAS and Fear State, but he's sort of a mish mash of different things I like about Jon in general. He's grown older and is more methodical about his revenge and crimes now. 

5. Are they a lone wolf or do they have a special somebody(ies)? Could be just friends or any significant other(s).

He has heavy social anxiety based on bullying and rejection (among other things) in his past, so for the most part, he's a more solitude version of Crane.

Edward Nygma. They're dating, but that was following a period of years knowing each other as Rogues. Jon didn't like Edward initially - he was easy to read: insecure, self absorbed, a textbook case of several disorders, too similar to parts of himself (See: we are made of the same material(derogatory)). They started out liking to annoy each other. While Jon's version of "annoy" literally scares off people, Edward is very persistent and would come back, not wanting to "lose" whatever game they had going on. 

They worked together a lot - Edward citing that Jon was "actually capable" , which is genuine praise coming from him. They were weird constants for each other, drifting in and out of Arkham, bonding over niche reading and games that others couldn’t be bothered with. Acted like a couple who're not actually a couple for a while. At some point, someone pointed out their behavior and caused both men to go into a panicked identity crisis where they practically didn't talk to each other for months. (However, Jonathan was included in a lot of Edward's riddles during that time, and it was a whole Thing for Batman.)

Harleen Quinzel. So while I think the idea of Jon having met Harley while teaching at university or where both were working at Arkham is cute, my version of Jonathan doesn’t meet Harley until after he’s become Scarecrow. He was an inmate at Arkham when Harley was first being influenced by the Joker, but was not one of her patients. I think he took a fascination in her as both someone wanting to study super criminals, and after as one who became one following some persuasion. Their relationship improved immensely after she cut ties with the Joker, as Jon began to regard her as an individual force versus a buffed henchman.

Jonathan thinks Harley is capable and intelligent, but still somewhat immature. There's a kinship there, but he wouldn't call it "fatherly" because that has never meant anything positive to him.

Jervis Tetch. Jon and Jervis share a bond that's close, but difficult to understand. They're able to tap into the same frequency that doesn't really make sense to others, so their conversations and streams of thinking, particularly when Jon is more Scarecrow than Jonathan, align well. Jonathan became a Rogue before Mad Hatter, and had known him as Dr. Jervis Tetch, esteemed neuroscientist [whose research I want to steal].

Bonus! This one is purely for me, but Jon is one of the few people who gets along with Victor Fries. Despite not being able to get a rouse out of him (which he hates), Jon likes Victor’s straightforward personality and that he generally doesn’t have to worry about the other man having ulterior motives. It’s a rare case of Jon actually being the sillier one of a dynamic. They’re just two dudes who are silent in the same room for a long period of time, but if you asked either they’d be like “yeah, my friend Jon/Victor”.

6. Do they have corvid or any other animal friends? This Jon had birds for a time as a method of exposure therapy to get over his childhood ornithophobia, but he does not currently keep any. They're more visitors to him, so he keeps specialty seed and supplies, but not crows proper.

Farmer Jonathan is something I find cute, but since he was relatively poor growing up, raising animals wasn’t something he really did. However, he does have a very rural mentality about animals: he’s respectful of them, but very blunt about their status as livestock.

[enigmamuse]

Scarecrow Ask (Museverse) #1-3

*Note: this contains some spoilers to source material like Year One

1. In a short summary, what was their childhood like? College years? What are they like now?

Jonathan's childhood was hellish, with his late teen years being slightly better. I answer this in a later number too, but he has a similar backstory to Year One, which includes the abuse by his great grandmother. As a kid, he was already very quiet, but the bullying, abuse, and subsequent inaction/silence from other adults/authority figures pushed Jon inwards more. Very early on, he formed the idea that he couldn't rely on others, and still carries that sentiment to some extent, which is why he's less known to seek other Rogues out. 

After his great grandmother's death (roughly when he was 15), he became relatively self sufficient. He sank into books and his studies, leaving no time outside of taking care of himself to make friends. During highschool and college, he was less explicitly picked on (like in Masters of Fear), but there was still jeering background noise that ate away at him. He had a fear of becoming victimized again, and distanced himself from others as a result.

One thing about my Jon is that he's almost never truly liked by the majority of people - always creeping others out with his interests, mannerisms, appearance (more the way he purposefully moves/presents himself) - and that sort of isolation/exclusion from community was a huge factor in him becoming the guy he is now. And right now... he's sort of messy. His progression to becoming a Rogue was inevitable. There were several different points where he probably could've lived a "regular" life, but I see Scarecrow as both a deliberate choice and something that's intrinsic to Jon as a person.

Jonathan is pretty repressed, and Scarecrow gave him an outlet to express himself and be loud, confident, wild and selfish (though often at the expense of others). As Jonathan (I'll sometimes refer to them as separate ideas), he's polite and quiet, but eerily so. He sometimes ruins the mystique by talking about weird subjects, and he delights in having control of situations by unsettling people. Occasionally (more if caught off guard) he flashes his extreme nature, which is more manipulative, sadistic, and rather manic.

2.  Professor or Doctor? Arkham or Gotham University?

Professor. He studied psychology and chemistry in college, eventually earning a doctorate in Psych. He practiced as a therapist for a short time after college, but had a hard time keeping regular patients - they would drop him, describing him as unsettling and too clinical. I imagine after that, he might have done some case studies at Arkham (having an interest in abnormal psychology) before teaching at Gotham U. 

3. What is their Scarecrow get up like?

I'm still sort of workshopping this, but early on his costume was just that - a literal Halloween costume. Whatever got the job done. As he got more attached to being Scarecrow, he customized his look, partially so he would be more unique/recognizable. Over time, he went through a couple different looks - overalls, a long duster jacket, the plainer looks of BTAS and New 52, even a grim reaper cloak. I think nowadays he likes the more homemade look that's practical to move around in. I'll post art when I have something solidified!!