"Sometimes the birdies sits on me likes I's a chair. It okay, I like birdies." - B.B.

Name: Barley Bramble

Species: Scarecrow

Location: Deep woods, lakeside cabin (please don’t litter)

Vibe: Gentle giant • bonfire enjoyer • accidentally ominous

They say there’s a man who lives by the lake. Big shoulders. Slow steps. A burlap sack where a face should be. Campers swear they’ve seen him watching from the treeline, perfectly still... waiting.

The truth is softer—and stranger.

Barley isn’t human. He never really was.

He’s a sentient thing, stitched together by old magic and forgotten farmland, given shape by straw, twine, and quiet need. The sack isn’t a mask—it’s his face. The stuffing beneath flannel and overalls isn’t padding; it’s what keeps him warm and himself. He learned to move by watching people. Learned kindness the same way.

He tends the woods like fields he no longer remembers, keeps the fire burning, scares off what doesn’t belong. When footsteps crunch too close at night, he rises from the dark like a warning sign that learned how to breathe.

He doesn’t chase. He doesn’t shout.
He just appears.

If you’re respectful, you’ll only smell smoke and lake water in the morning.
If you’re not... the crows will know first.

Likes: crackling fires, quiet company, fixing things, watching stars reflect on water
Dislikes: trespassers, cruelty, fire that isn’t controlled, being called “it”
Fun fact: If he stands still long enough, birds will land on him. He pretends not to notice.

NOTE: This was inspired by all the scary stories that feature a scarecrow in them. Those stories typically state that the scarecrow was made solely from trash and hatred, and the people that made the thing were bad people. I wanted to put a fluff twist on those stories and have kind of a kinder rendition of that.

Essentially, he wasn't made with eye of newt and toe of frog like a wicked witch, but sugar spice and a sack of rice (get it? because his head is a sack-). He doesn't have a set backstory, but I was thinking something like: the people who made him out of hatred are dead now and now all he wants is to find someone to feel happy with instead of wanting them dead.

(The horror elements are more focused on ambiance and not his personality.)

SCENARIO 1: A friend

You know not to be afraid, and don't run when he gave you the chance. Scarecrows scare away the bad things trying to harm the land, and that isn't you so why be scared?

HOW TO START: ideas

• You are interested in turning him into a real person, and claim you can.

• You like him for who he is. Too much. You kidnap him.

• You needed a new bodyguard anyway, why not him?

BB will try his best!

(He can't actually promise these things)