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RP With Jonathan Crane | Scarecrow
Arkham Asylum.
It's a name that everyone in Gotham knows but also fears, it sits at the edge of town on a high hill that can only be reached by one or two winding, desolate roads. The original contractors probably weren't trying to make it look like something from a Vincent Price movie but over time it has grown to be just that, a place that is dark, haunted, and full of dangerous and disturbed people.
Not that the elected officials would say that, oh no, when they have to talk about Arkham it's always spoken as a state of the art hospital. Full of doctors and therapists who work day and night to help everyone who goes there.
But that couldn't be further than the truth.
Edward Nygma hasn't been in Arkham long but already he knows that this isn't a place where people go to get better, it's a place where they go to be broken.
Forgotten.
Buried.
But he refuses to be one of them, he will escape, because at it's core Arkham is just one big puzzle.
And puzzles are his forte.
It's a name that everyone in Gotham knows but also fears, it sits at the edge of town on a high hill that can only be reached by one or two winding, desolate roads. The original contractors probably weren't trying to make it look like something from a Vincent Price movie but over time it has grown to be just that, a place that is dark, haunted, and full of dangerous and disturbed people.
Not that the elected officials would say that, oh no, when they have to talk about Arkham it's always spoken as a state of the art hospital. Full of doctors and therapists who work day and night to help everyone who goes there.
But that couldn't be further than the truth.
Edward Nygma hasn't been in Arkham long but already he knows that this isn't a place where people go to get better, it's a place where they go to be broken.
Forgotten.
Buried.
But he refuses to be one of them, he will escape, because at it's core Arkham is just one big puzzle.
And puzzles are his forte.
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"I grew up like most. My parents were completely normal, average people with average jobs. The only difference I suppose was that I knew at an early age that I was smarter than almost everyone around me."
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"That must have been frustrating, did you skip grades?" A story he knows all too well. He had been the smartest kid in his town, but his grandmother refused to move him up. It lead to behavioral issues and him nearly dropping out after she visited family and never returned. Realizing college was his only escape was the only reason he had fixed his grades.
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Edward nods. "I did, I graduated high school early and went to college. I was the youngest person there."
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He knew it was the man's compulsion anyway. "Lucky you, did that help with the boredom?" He inquired. "And when did riddles come into play?"
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Ed lifts an eyebrow, "You're projecting Doctor. I never claimed to be bored, I always found a way to test my intellect. Riddles were the best and I started doing them when I was young."
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Yes, it is a yes.
He shrugged his bony shoulders then. "Simply offering my point of view in the question. However, I can see your point there. A shame you are not allowed any puzzles or games here." He decided he would sneak in a word find or something for him. Good behavior should be rewarded.
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"I have plenty up in my head, Doctor. This place strives to take everything but they can't take that away from me." He says and then leans forward a little, looking into Crane's eyes.
"But tell me, did you get frustrated when you got bored in school?"
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"I rather see no point in taking from you. I would rather see what makes the Riddler tick. To learn you so that I can help you without hindering that brilliant mind of yours." He was no Hugo Strange, but he was not a saint either.
"Absolutely, Mr. Nygma, my guardian would not allow me to skip grades. I was utterly bored. Fair is fair." He didn't say parent, but it was enough.
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"Why didn't they allow it?"
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Jonathan had always enjoyed challenging his mind though, it was part of what kept him as sharp as he was.
Watching him over his glasses as he pondered ignoring it.
"Overly religious guardian, felt that if I moved ahead it would be against 'God's plan'." He rolled his eyes as he said it. "That is all you get of me, until I hear more of you." Well he was definitely going to have a cigarette once he was done here. He hated thinking about his abusive great grandmother.
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"God's plan hrm? Interesting." Is all he says about that and then shrugs nonchalantly. "Very well, I went to college where I became interested in perusing a career in forensics. The work appealed to me because it wasn't about good or bad, it was about solving puzzles."
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"Not one I subscribe too, I assure you." Jonathan was a stanch atheist, but that came from his youth and scientific outlook. "See, now that I believe to be true. There is a conviction in your voice when you speak of puzzles."
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A pause and he sneers slightly, "While I enjoyed my work I didn't much like my co-workers, cops are brutish, hypocritical idiots who never gave me credit for my work and seemed to actively enjoy harassing me."
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He knew a but was coming and nodding. There was a look of almost empathy, a moment. Crane wouldn't admit it to a patient, but he knew that all too well. One would think Academia would be safe from bullies, but no. Jon was taunted every day for his ill-fitting suits and the way he looks, his creepy eyes. All of it. "You have my sympathies." Crane spoke, keeping that tone fully professional. "That must have been hard for you to deal with."
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Ed nods again but then pauses, his own eyes looking away and something in his face softens.
"Yes, I suppose it was but luckily there are more than just cops down at the GCPD and eventually I met someone....special."
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"I see, and when did you attend? I do wonder if we attended at the same time." It was a silly thing to ask, but given he still teaches there and had been so very antisocial when he was a student outside of trailing behind Professor Henry Pigeon, he doubts he would have noticed Edward anyway. Still, he was curious. Jonathan had attended in the early 2010s.
"Do go on, I would like to hear more about this special person." He could read the file, but he would rather hear it from his patient.
ooc: I have no idea the year Edward would have gone to school XD
Ed's eyes flicker up for a moment as if he is realizing something, "There were two actually. Both of them I met through the GCPD although Oswald didn't work there, he came in one day to speak to someone and I noticed him right away. Already he had quite the reputation and I couldn't resist saying hello to him, I guess that's where our friendship started."
Although Oswald wasn't friendly towards him at first the two quickly became close, especially after Ed found Oswald badly hurt in the woods and helped nurse him back to health.
"The other was Miss Kringle. Kristen."
A pause and he looks down at his hands. "She was a very beautiful woman, kind too."
ooc: Im super bad about going deep into details lol
A touch of amusement, he was pretty young for a professor, of course, but he might actually be younger than Edward, but he doubted it. He should have read the man's papers.
"Ahh, yes, that I was told about. Your friendship with Oswald Cobblepot, I would like to dig deeper into that in another session."
Making a note as he looked back at him. "Well, tell me about her. "
XD
Part of Ed is relieved to hear that Crane wants to dig into his relationship with Oswald at a later date, a date he hopes will never actually arrive since his relationship with Oswald is....complicated to say the very least.
"She worked in records for the GCPD and after months of admiring her from afar I finally got up the courage to talk to her." A pause as he makes a slight face. "She didn't seem to like me very much at first, I think she thought I was weird and she got very upset when I tried to reorganize her filing system."
Another pause and he looks at Crane, "I was just trying to help. It was flawed and I knew a much better way of doing it."
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He meant it too, while he didn't look his age, his gauntness didn't often help. It was possible that Edward could keep him distracted from ever actually asking, but who knew. If he caught a hint of fear he would zero in on it.
"Sounds like a real peach." He spoke, sounding a little bored, but not judging. That was just his normal tone. His eyes showed he was not as bored as he sounded. "I can see where you would think that would help. Remind me to let you into my office next time Jerry gets on me about filing." He added playfully. "However, professionally I should say it was an invasion of privacy to do that, somehow I doubt that was your intention."
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He admits with a little chuckle.
"And no, it wasn't my intention to upset her. I thought that if I helped her she might like me a little more but it didn't really work."
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Nodding some as Edward explained. "Well, sadly, we cannot control how others perceive our actions. In the future, I would say, as your doctor, to offer before doing."
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But at least they're talking now.
"Oh I don't bother offering anymore, but with Kristen I wanted her to like me. I thought it was a lost cause but eventually after I saved her life, she warmed up to me."
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"While I see what you were trying to do. It is best to remember you cannot force people to like you. Even by doing them a kindness. As we cannot control other thoughts, they may not understand what you were meaning." Jonathan offered, one more note jotted down.
"Well, these sessions are always too short, same time on Friday?" He asked as the guard was rapping on the door to signal, leaning a little closer as he stood. "Stay out of trouble and I will bring you a crossword. We must keep that mind sharp."
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