How the Dork Squad annoy one another
While it is nice to talk about how the three support one another, it’s also fun to discuss how they can be petty as fuck after a disagreement. And after working together for so long, they know just what buttons to push, but also know where the line is so they don’t actually get into a physical altercation.
Scarecrow is definitely the easiest to annoy. The best way to do that is to invade his personal space. If you’re less than a meter away from him, you’re too close. Riddler and Hatter will intentionally sit really close to him, feigning ignorance to his seething and just touching his stuff without permission. Leaving doors open, coming in without knocking, and especially touching him are also great ways. He hates it when people touch him without his permission, even if it’s like a hug from Harley. Riddler patting his back is enough to grant himself the death stare of a lifetime. You don’t. Touch. The Jonathan. The line is when you start messing with his work; that’s when he’ll kick you out and threaten you with fear gas.
Riddler is harder to annoy because of his giant ego. Any criticism or complaints will just be brushed off as you not understanding him and his genius. Being indirect is definitely the way to go. Often times Scarecrow and Hatter will have a conversation while he’s in earshot, every so often dropping in purposfully wrong information. Things like “I enjoy tomatoes the most on my sandwiches. It’s my favorite vegetable” or “Zelda is the funny blonde elf boy in green with the sword and shield, right?” Riddler will immediately cringe at the misinformation, but he can’t turn around and correct them because he knows they already know the right answer but are purposefully getting it wrong. Playing dumb around him is great because he can’t insult their intelligence because he knows it’s what they want. Also, interrupting him. Absolute best trigger. Especially when you’re feigning ignorance about doing it.
If you know my works by now, you’ll know that Hatter is by far the hardest to piss off when he’s around friends. He’s always so cheery and happy that getting him genuinely upset is an accomplishment. But Riddler and Scarecrow know which buttons to push. His annoyance comes from being ignored and treated rudely, but you have to be consistent. Like he’ll offer to pour Edward tea, and he’ll accept, and then Edward will just leave the cup there to get cold and never drink it. Scarecrow developed a pretty merciless tactic where, whenever Hatter gives a valid opinion in a group talk, Scarecrow will just laugh, pat the Hatter’s head like he’s a child, and then go back to talking to Riddler like Tetch never said anything. One alone isn’t enough to get him annoyed, so consistency is the key, and it’s worth it because he has the biggest explosion of anger out of all three of them. Also, telling him that Tim Burton made a sequel to Alice in Wonderland and that it’s worse than the first. He’ll throw a fucking chair out the window at hearing that.