cranetm

[cranetm]

if i'm not here, i'm either on disco @ control_devil OR over at @whywhitby

[cranetm]

𝕄𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕤.

verse : dc. — the wrong side of town.

It was a short affair, in the end. When the fire raged and the blood dried on the sand, it didn't take long for the world to catch up with Miriam Baxter Ross. The arrest and assessment were followed by months of waiting, interspersed with bursts of chaotic, terrifying action. Then the bang of a gavel, then a trip to Lake's Crossing.

Six months of futile treatment, talk therapy and sedation later, she found herself transferred, per the petition of a singular professional. The remnants of her life are swallowed up without fanfare. Everything that came before is snatched in the jaws of a greater beast. Miriam is moved to ARKHAM ASYLUM, Gotham City. The facility becomes her new home, complete with strange neighbors and new friends.

In the devoted care of Dr. Jonathan Crane, Miriam undergoes a specialized form of treatment. As her disturbed psyche is molded and reshaped, she begins to learn what it takes to survive among the forgotten and mistreated, and among the colorful, bizarre denizens of Gotham's underworld. Self defense, it turns out, was never quite the point. What she learned in the desert follows her to the concrete jungle. She wants what she is offered. Arkham becomes a hothouse, a place for her to blossom into something new: an acolyte of fear, and a sharp instrument.

𝕄𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤.

[cranetm]

@cranetm gets a moodboard !

[cranetm]

WHY IS HE MUZZLED? WHO DID HE BITE?

[cranetm]

Scarecrow Panel Edit [20/?]

[cranetm]

So this is how tonight’s event is going

[cranetm]

going on a semi hiatus, but you can find me on discord @ control_devil !!

[cranetm]

@cranetm : "Okay, that's it, I'm cutting you off."

HE'S SURROUNDED by ghouls and spiders and there might even be a goblin in there somewhere. It's all so terrifying.

Which is AWESOME! Because all of the things in front of him are such a sweet distraction from the figure in the shadows, holding small hands up into the air and slowly veering them to point at him. He's gonna stab it once he kills some of the ghouls and gains magical powers by drinking their blood.

"What? WHY!?"   He frowns at the masked man, flailing arms around in exasperation. There's a puddle of sweat at his pits and a steady tremor about him. The small hands are away - far far away - but he thinks, with all the creatures, he'd have the strength to chop them off. He just needs a minute. One more minute. "Why do you wanna hold out on me, dude? This shit's wearing off and, like, I haven't even scratched any of 'em yet, man. Throw me a bone here, come on. One more hit. Hit me. Blow it, weird dude." 

[cranetm]

Welcome to 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍, a Discord-based horror roleplay group opening in early June.

Join us as we embark on 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐 — where you play as a new recruit of 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐒, a top secret global agency.

You have been summoned to their base on the coast of Washington, where an oil spill has caused the evacuation of a local town. As a member of Nexus's scientific expedition, you will set out to investigate the full extent of the damage to the ecosystem.

Despite the beauty of the abandoned landscape, the hulking form of the distant oil rig looms on the horizon.

Choose your role on the expedition, be it biologist, engineer, or even chef, and see where the horrors take you.

𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂 / 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄

[cranetm]

there is something so grotesquely fascinating about the way will lashes out practically with tooth and nail, raging at the world in spite of the reality of his situation. what so many would find hopeless, pitiful, is discarded in his madness. and so he digs himself deeper, drowning in his fear. crane hesitates for a moment, savoring that wild stare. it burns right through him. in those brief seconds, he imagines how long it might take for will's fire to fade away. would he fight until the very last moment? the moment is broken just as swiftly, however, as will looks away.

this isn't surrender. it's resolute suicide.

crane scoffs, bitterly, and loosens the rope. yet, stubborn in his own right, he refuses to pull away. ❛ it's a miracle you've survived this long. ❜ his left hand drifts towards will's face, spider - like fingers brushing against the scar on his cheek. it reminds him of a friend. ❛ though i doubt you'll last much longer, if you continue to head in this direction... ❜

crane has no intention of leaving him alone. as far as he is concerned, will is all the more fortunate because of it. ❛ i really did want to let you go home, will. but how can i trust you now? ❜ his eyes narrow in a mockery of sympathy. no ; killing him would be too easy. too convenient. too logical. and crane has so much more in mind for him. they have so much to look forward to.

A choking gagging sound rips from Will's throat as the noose wraps around his neck tight, another loud gag as its yanked and his head is forced into the direction jerking it. His hands try to move on their own, a ghost limb desperate to slip beneath the noose so he'd be able better to breathe. Crane didn't have to be stronger than him - he'd prove himself faster and just as violent. The injuries the Dragon and the fall left him with are openly mocking him just as loud as he can feel his psychiatrist.

Will's eyes find the rogue's. He's seen him smile before. This was his real face. Held so close he can feel each exhale right against his skin, Will's vivid imagination fills in any blank he otherwise physically could not see. Will shakes his head no, his neck craning desperately for relief for his neck that wouldn't be found.

"I ... would .." he gasps for air that does not fill his lungs, not completely. His breath is harder beneath Crane while struggling less. "... juu.. juuu.. esst ..... leave."

The words are strained, a gag between the words before he chokes for a moment on his own hard swallow. If Crane was allowed to walk and decided not to keep his word, he'd be imprisoned. Will would have to run. It was sloppy. Will also had nothing else left to lose. His eyes break away from Crane's and focus forward. He's been had; he's the look of a man who's accepting his anticipated death. Crane is honored by getting an answer to his question, at least.

[cranetm]

crane huffs into his tea. him, clubbing. it's an amusing thought. ❛ ..i had an allergic reaction. a medicinal compound. ❜ technically, it isn't an exaggeration. but he has no intention of being any more candid about it. ❛ and i'm perfectly lucid, as a matter of fact. ❜

"An unfortunate side effect of being someone I like, of course I'm going to worry," she snarks. "So, what happened? I doubt you went clubbing and you are way too groggy for it to have been a quiet night at home."

[cranetm]

𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖘 𝖈𝖔𝖎𝖑 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖒𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖇𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖕𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖆𝖘 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖌𝖔 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖕?

        "ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴡᴇʟʟ?"

                                                            "ɪ ᴏꜰᴛᴇɴ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ."

@cranetm

[cranetm]

if you ever feel safe please remember that im out there

[cranetm]

ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴜɪɴ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇ, ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ.

          ʏᴇꜱ. ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ?

@cranetm

[cranetm]

crane says jump, miriam asks how high. how excellently he's managed to lure her into his web. he sits before her, the epitome of authority, gaze glacially calm — while within, he preens. she is a splendid case, defined by a background that stands out, delightfully, against gotham's gray milieu, and a deep capacity for... suggestion. her progress cannot be understated. these days, he hardly even needs his toxin.

❛ something? ❜ the good doctor echoes, brows furrowing gently. there it is. ❛ not someone. ❜ an obvious observation stated only for miriam's sake. call it encouragement. crane drinks up each tremor that travels through her form. his eyes rake across her face and travel down to her hands, watching as she practically caves in on herself. he then glances towards the window with her. another suggestion. what lengths must she have gone to, to keep it out?

❛ what do you think it wanted, miriam? ❜ doubtless it is some form of her past, some phantom made manifest through sheer delirium. the less she sleeps, the worse it gets, and crane is certainly doing her no favors. instead, he pursues her visions, as curious as he is repelled by the sickness she carries. he cannot look away.

@cranetm : Dr. Crane says:

I can see it in your eyes.

Shivers are racing up and down her spine, cold and aching. They close around her midriff like a pair of chilled hands, ten spindly spider-fingers digging into her sides. Her skin rises, tries to crawl away from her. Miriam is convinced she has a fever, something thick and quaking. Something insidious in her skull, poisoning her blood and cooking her heart. She imagines it sliding through her body, dripping from organ to organ. She inhales sharply.

Dr. Crane has her pinned again. He's not been what she expected, which was something along the lines of an exorcist. He's never once tied her down or forced horrid tinctures into her to drive her soul out of her body. No, he doesn't force her. It's not him making her sick. She knows that. He's explained it. He's trying to help. She tries to remember how often she's been here before, but her memory recedes like the tide. Water through her fingers.

He tells her not to lie. She shrinks into herself. His voice is smooth and calm, almost gentle, some almost-whisper designed to put her at ease. But she scratches at her palms. "I guess I didn't sleep that much." She corrects her earlier assessment. No, she's not slept well. She's not sure why she said that. He always knows when she's lying. He always knows.

"I was... I was busy. I had to— I had stuff to do. I couldn't focus on sleep." Miriam murmurs her explanation, half to herself, as her sunken blue eyes flicker and flinch from his face to the shuttered window. "Something was trying to get in."

[cranetm]

whatever will thinks he might achieve — he simply isn't fast enough. crane catches the blow and redirects it, using his momentum to both pull the shorter man in while simultaneously tearing the cane out of his grasp. it would be the perfect opportunity to make use of his toxin, if only he had his damn mask on. with the rebreather still very much tucked away in his suit, crane pivots— and thrusts the blunt end of the cane directly into will's abdomen.

all it takes is a moment.

with a well timed swipe of his foot, he destabilizes will and sends him crashing to the ground. it's a well - practiced routine, really, and his knowledge of will's physical trauma makes targeting his weak points pitifully easy. before will has the chance to reorient himself, crane is already on him, pulling a noose over his head. typically, the rope serves as a part of his mask, though it's use goes beyond the decorative.

❛ tell me, ❜ the rogue hisses, breath ghosting against will's cheek as he keeps him pinned. ❛ what exactly did you intend to do after killing me? pray crawford would never find out? ❜ he gives the noose a rough pull — for the sake of clarity. ❛ even for you, that's sloppy. ❜

Save .. that wasn't right. Even as it left his lips. Will only attacked one and only one but there was no attempt to save anybody. The fox heard a rabbit sequel ; if he'd gotten there any sooner, would he have helped? The answer doesn't come clear to him. He was just .. curious.

"Well.. I can only get anywhere so quick in my current displacement." But Crane was correct ; it was beyond self-defense. He was leaving behind a letter, one that may never even be read. He misses Hannibal the way a smoker misses ash in their lungs. This kill felt like he'd just taken a massive drag, riding a nicotine high.

"You doubt if my intentions were to save anybody and yet you continue to walk closer to a man covered in blood." Now it's Will's turn to admire Crane's boldness... or recklessness. Will allows it, not moving a single frame from where he stood or how he stood. He's admiring him. Did he admire his work, too?

Regardless. Crane had to die.

Will's body jerks, tossing the cane up just enough to secure it from a handle to a weapon before violently swinging it right for Crane's head.

[cranetm]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖎𝖓 𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘

╰┈➤ @greenj0ke :: ❛ we had a deal. we look out for each other. we don’t fuck each other over. ❜

❛ you're being paranoid. i hardly fucked you over. ❜ instability goes hand in hand with the convenience of manipulation. even for a friend. they would hardly be rogues if didn't get in each other's way, now and then. scarecrow exhales against the brittle material of his mask before leaning in, briefly, as if to examine joker's eyes. he isn't certain he can get away with this, but——

❛ don't tell me you tried my goods... i have orders to complete, you know. ❜