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The Scarecrow Letters

Dear Jonathan Crane,

I was very nervous to do another plan because I felt bad about Jake, but I suppose you know better. It took two tries before anything happened to Madison H. I don't think the doctors know exactly what happened and I'm glad because I don't want to poison anyone else and I really don't want to poison me. The news says they thought it was one of the lunch people and took Mr. Gilman to jail because they thought he did it because they looked in his house and found stuff that means he's a petta file. I don't know what that is and the dictionary doesn't have it. I'm kind of sad because he was really nice to me and I feel bad again. I think Madison H. is going to move like Beth did, so that's a good thing. I don't know if everything I did was right but the guys who were meanest to me are gone now and no one thinks I did anything for once. Thank you. You're my only friend and since you're my brother you won't never go away, right? I love you too.

I don't know if you know what I look like now so there's a picture in the envelope. I'm not very pretty and everyone says so but there I am anyway. I think you know lots about me by now. I don't know nothing about you. What's it like in Arkham? I bet its lots more exciting than Arlen.

From Hester-Mae

Dear Hester-Mae,

So all of your enemies have been eliminated. Excellent. I would not feel too bad for Mr. Gilman, my dear. He was a very bad man and deserved to be arrested. How, exactly, was he nice to you? Oh, I'm not going to have you do anything now. If I feel it's necessary, I will take care of him myself. Do not worry. I told you, I will not let you do anything wrong. You've done so much good and I'm proud of you.

Your picture was very nice. Don't listen to people when they tell you you're not pretty. Your hair is much darker than the last time I saw you. I was blond as a child before it gradually darkened to what it is now. I suspect your own hair will do the same. I am rather surprised at our physical similarities, given we are only half-siblings. The main differences I can see are your gender and your freckles. You are as skin-and-bones as I was (I suppose that is why Jake used to call you Stickbug?) and that surprises me. I had figured that my physique is due to my—our great-grandmother's treatment of me. Does our mother treat you well? Tell me everything. Before you panic, I will not cause you to harm our mother. I would never make you do such a thing.

Interested in Arkham, are we? It is not a particularly pleasant place. Still, to people like me it is the closest thing we have to a home. No matter what we do or how long we stay away, we always come back. Be it by bat, cop, or choice, we come back. The food is substandard, the bunks are hard, and you only receive one blanket regardless of the cold. I receive plenty of mail from deluded fans to keep myself amused, and of course your letters which are more or less my only true connection to the outside world. When not replying to you, I write scholarly articles under a pseudonym. Dr. Ichabod Lyman is just as highly regarded for his insight into the human mind and its fears as Dr. Jonathan Crane used to be.

I was—am a genius, you know. Graduated early, a respected teacher at university by the time I was twenty-four. Unprecedented in the history of Gotham State. Why I was fired is still a mystery to me. I suppose I was wrong to presume that a teacher's job is to know his students and to educate them to the best of his abilities. My goal was to learn about my students' fears and to teach them about the true meaning of fear. Was I not chosen because of my insight into fear? It was the focus of my class. But certain oversensitive people object to the firing of a gun in a classroom, even if no one was harmed and no harm was intended. I admittedly went overboard in my reaction, which resulted in my unfortunate threat against you, but I have mellowed and because of my firing I have realized my purpose. The embrace, rather than the rejection of fear. Fear is the purest and deepest emotion. It is the first emotion we feel upon birth and is often the last emotion we experience. Nothing else penetrates the soul quite as deeply. It is what has kept us alive. Oh, if only you were not a child and could understand! One day your mental faculties will be developed enough for you to comprehend the great truth I have come upon. You seem to be fairly intelligent already, more than most so-called adults I have come across, and one day I shall educate you in the true meaning of fear.

I suppose you would like to know about the other denizens locked away here. Oswald Cobblepot (the man that I have been receiving all of the various penguin related effects from for our charade) no longer resides here, now owning a respected high class lounge. So I am afraid we will have to continue our sham without back-up. Our mother is not very bright, so I would not worry. Cobblepot was one of the more decent ones. A bit absorbed with hailing from one of Gotham's finest families, but he was polite at least. His Iceberg Lounge is actually quite lovely. The food was excellent, and looking at my pitiful supper I miss it all the more. Harleen Quinzel can be tolerable at times. She was once a psychiatrist like myself. Not a particularly good one, but occasionally I can involve her in a semi-engaging conversation. When she is around her boyfriend, however, she is the most annoying creature to ever walk the face of the planet. The Joker is abominable. End of story. Edward Nigma is extremely intelligent, likely even a genius, and can make for terrific company. Unfortunately his ego can become too large to occupy the same room with. Jervis Tetch has an impeccable knowledge of the workings of the mind but is so obsessed with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that wringing anything sensible from him is akin to pulling teeth from a shark. Pamela Isley is the botanist who has helped us, if once inadvertently. She is brilliant at what she does and has an impressive knowledge of toxins and the manipulation of the mind using pheromones. She just happens to care more for the safety of dandelions than those of people. I myself care little for the insects scurrying around Gotham, but she is disturbing. Still, if you know how to speak to her she is an exceptional ally. Julian Day switches between impressive competency and idiotic buffoonery to the extent where he can give Harvey Dent a run for his money. Speaking of Mr. Dent, his "good" persona is dedicated to law and order to an annoying degree whereas his "evil" persona is a violent maniac impossible to talk to. Garfield Lynns is a pyromaniac incapable of discussing anything but flames. Cameron van Cleer is a joke. Maximillian Zeus is good for conversing about mythology, bad for anything else. Arnold Wesker is a sad, pathetic wretch. His alter ego Scarface is unbearably annoying. John Dee believes himself to be such a big, scary threat. It would be almost adorable if he were not nearly as pathetic and wrteched as Wesker. Victor Zsasz mutters constantly and only cares about adding marks to his collection. How he has not yet been executed is a mystery. Victor Fries is pitiable, and his dedication to his wife is admirable, I suppose. Waylon Jones is more animal than sentient. Bane is surprisingly intelligent and knowledgeable. You would think that because of his use of what I can only describe as "super-steroids" that he would be a muscle-headed thug, but I was interestingly proven wrong.

That went on for longer than intended and I apologize. I think I will begin educating you in fear. You are very young and I am more used to teaching university-level students, but I am sure I will manage. You were meant for greater things than wasting away in Arlen, sister. Such a place is too small and insignificant for those such as we are. You have potential, but it needs molding and guidance in order to flourish. I will make it flourish.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Crane.

I think at some point during his rant about his fellow villains Jonathan forgot he was writing to his eight-year old sister and just started venting his inner thoughts. I think he cares for Hester-Mae genuinely, as much as he can anyway, but since he is so manipulative and despite his knowledge of psychology has such a warped understanding of human relationships he can't help but try to control and shape her after his own image. I blame great-granny Keeny. Jony wouldn't ever make HM hurt their mother. He wants to do it himself, the little sadist.

There's going to be a three-year time skip between the events of these letters and next chapters. See you soon. Different Scarecrow time, same Scarecrow channel.