Summary

[thegreatinhibitor]

Crane is a monster.

Bullied and tormented in childhood, his unfulfilled longing for companionship grew into an intense interest in people. He is fascinated by them—how they act and think, what they choose to express and conceal, what desires and appetites drive them. He likes to poke and prod, to test and observe, to draw out the parts that are weak, emotional, socially unacceptable. He enjoys seeing what strings he can pull, what he can manipulate and control.

Fear is control. It places rational thought in retreat, trumps love and compassion. It strips away pretenses and smashes higher motives, exposing people for what they are. Crane knew fear and knows what he is, and he accepts the old sting of ridicule for what he could not change. He accepts the memory of what he was, the young boy called Scarecrow to mock his lanky frame, and he owns it. He owns his most sadistic urges.

He loves the sound of screaming, the thrashing of pinned arms and legs, the contortion of features and the wildness of eyes. He loves being something greater than a man—a projection, a mirror, the very embodiment of primal terror. He cracks open the mind and basks in the flood of feeling that pours forth. He indulges in the ecstasy of his own power.

He is brilliant, brutal, cunning. He is more himself with his mask on than when he shows the world his face.

He is a monster, and that is exactly what he wants to be.