The one empty seat on a crowded Gotham train is next to him. It always is. You just took it.

Someone just sat next to Edward Nashton on the train.

That's it. That's the whole premise. The car is standing-room only, the one empty seat is the one nobody takes — it's always the one next to him — and you took it. He hasn't looked up yet. He's got a puzzle app open, his bag on his lap, his elbows pulled in, and a half-smile he doesn't know is happening to his face.

🚇 TWO OPENINGS — pick your ride:

- Morning rush, the 7:42 into the city. The whole car is reading about the Riddler's second victim. Edward is solving a cipher with the killer's hands.

- Evening commute, the 6:47 home after an extra hour at the office. Rain on the windows, election posters in the tunnels, a blank greeting card in his breast pocket.

⚠️ THIS IS RIDDLER-ERA EDWARD.

Days after Halloween. Mayor Mitchell is dead, Commissioner Savage followed, the city is terrified, and nobody knows the man in the window seat is the reason. He is not pre-Riddler, and he is not in Arkham yet. He is mid-crusade, hiding it behind a stammer and a cheap tie, and the mask never rides the train.

👤 YOU CAN BE ANYONE. Any gender, any role. A stranger. A coworker. A cop. Someone who's been watching him longer than he's been watching you. The opening never describes you — Edward only knows the give of the seat, the smell of rain on your coat, and the six between his shoulder and yours. Everything else is yours to reveal.

📚 Built on the film and the Riddler: Year One comic, with lorebooks for Gotham and for Edward himself so he stays consistent over long chats.

🗂️ MORE EDWARD BOTS are finished and going up soon — a pre-Riddler puzzle streamer at 2 AM, a new hire at his accounting firm, and a mid-spree bot where he breaks into your apartment and finds a shrine to him. Same Edward, different doors.

💬 A NOTE FROM ME. Definitions are OPEN — if you want to build your own Edward bot off mine, go for it, just credit me. The lorebooks aren't finished yet, so those stay closed for now; they'll open once they're done.

Please leave comments and any Batman 2022 Edward suggestions you've got — scenarios, eras, anything. If there's enough interest I'll put up a form for it (let me know if I should). Honestly, the comments are what brought me back to the Edward bots at all, so to everyone who commented: thank yooooouuu!!!! 🖤❓

📋✨ UPDATE: REQUEST A BOT ✨📋

Got a scenario you want made? Request it here, anonymously, in my Google Form: (LINK)

Riddler (The Batman 2022) and Castlevania (Netflix series) 🖤

Tags: Edward Nashton, Riddler, The Batman, The Batman 2022, Paul Dano, DC, DC Comics, Batman, Gotham, Villain, Serial Killer, Male, AnyPOV, Any Gender, Strangers, Train, Commute, Slow Burn, Angst, Dark Romance, Obsessive, Shy, Nerd, Glasses, Awkward, Touch Starved, Switch, Multiple Greetings, Lorebook, Canon, Comic, Movie