#Petty to still be thinking about this

[ed-nygma]

Bringing this back because the comic absolutely validates my interpretation over the idea that Edward is meant to represent some victim of online extremist radicalization lol

Unsurprisingly, he was never radicalized by the internet. He never even thought much about politics until he stumbled upon very real evidence of corruption at his job. He, like I believed, was the one who radicalized others. He quite literally laid out clues to lead people to him. Except he wasn't running on wild conspiracies or made-up culture wars, everything he documented was factual. The corruption within Gotham far transcends simple political affiliations, it is everywhere, and he hand more than enough evidence.

And like I said, Edward never cared about any of his followers beyond the power that they provided him. He only ever cared about the one person he considered an equal to him, Batman. He says it himself, that he trusts nobody but him. That they will be safe in the ark, which is why he let GCPD arrest him, and why he led Batman to Arkham, so only they would be safe.

Edward's idea to flood the city and drown everyone was entirely self-serving. There was no political bias there. He loathed the city which failed him and caused him sickness, so he chose to destroy it. And most importantly; attention. All eyes were on him. Like he declares in the comic, he will be remembered. He doesn't want to be a ghost anymore. Again, the corruption only enraged him because it had personally affected him, it chained him down. But in a scenario where Edward is compensated for what he found? In a scenario where the city's corrupt and wealthy feared him and decided to let him into their game? He would have never fought it.

That little paragraph I wrote about Edward looking up to Batman because of how others feared him? Because of the power he held? All confirmed. Edward never put any focus on the side of Batman that exists to help others. Which is why he couldn't understand why Batman didn't agree with the whole flooding the city plan. He just wanted the power to be seen and heard, and to draw people closer.

It's not a moral fight, it is entirely personal to him.

I think some people have been watching The Batman (2022) and missing the point of the Riddler as a villain. Now, what follows is my own interpretation of the character, and this being a subjective matter means there's no real answer. Just keep in mind this is a vague reply to a post I read recently, and that I'm not replying directly to it because I think it would be pointless to argue about something like this over the internet. (Plus, I acknowledge it's not that deep, but I wanted to talk about my own analysis of Edward)

The Riddler wasn't just lashing out, and he sure as hell wasn't fighting corruption. He wanted attention. That has always been, and will always be, the main driving force for him as a BATMAN villain. He uses a carefully constructed facade of righteousness and victimhood to draw people in. He has a cult personality, and he knows how to weaponize it. His goal was never justice, he never fell down a pipeline of radicalization due to the internet, HE used the internet as a tool to get OTHERS. And YES, you can draw parallels to problems happening in the real world right now, but I don't think drawing said parallels are enough to turn something into a 1:1 allegory.

Edward doesn't care about anyone but himself and those he perceives as equals (Batman, and I believe the same might apply to the Joker later in the Reevesverse). That's the reason he was fine allowing all of his followers to die for him while he stayed at Arkham. He never saw them as equals, and he never believed in a cause. He believed in himself, and he wanted vengeance for himself and himself alone. He had a vendetta against Gotham for what it did to him, not others, and, as such, he targeted the city.

However, unlike the Joker, the Riddler prefers positive attention. He likes to be praised and he likes to feel admired- he wants to be venerated and worshipped by people who genuinely believe he's a genius. This is why Edward hides behind morality and complex schemes, while the Joker engages in much more senseless plots. He knows he can attract more people by validating their own misery and, again, you can draw parallels to how people recruit disenfranchised men for extremist groups, but he never wanted to help a community, it doesn't matter what kind of sugary words he uses to charm his followers, he sent them on a suicide mission while he was safe at the asylum because he wanted the WHOLE CITY gone. That was his "cause." In fact, he idolized Batman not because of his morals and the way he was "helping" the city but rather because he liked the way people feared, respected (in some regards), and flaunted him. He thought he was cool, and he wanted to receive the same attention Batman was getting due to being neglected in the past, never feeling acknowledged. He drew inspiration from Batman because of this.

He's a cult leader- one who isn't devoted to any cause but himself. He wanted to destroy the city because he believed he had the right to do so due to his own personal misfortune, but he never wanted to fight corruption. If he was given the chance to become part of the elite Bruce Wayne is a part of, he would have happily taken it and never once looked back at the people who were once in a situation like his.

[bbbbbbbbatman]

love Superbat dynamic of them having a full on domestic in the middle of a fight against this week’s villain, throwing insults and passive aggressive (and less passive) comments between punches, the vibes are truly awful and even the villain is like “hey, maybe we should take a pause on things and I can try to take over the world next week once you’ve made up”

[chrisrin]

HE'S GONNA STEAL--NOT JUST YOUR HEART--BUT EVERYTHING YOU OWN AS WELL!!!

[drbtinglecannon]

Remember when Willow first met Darius and how, despite his title and power, immediately fought back

Vs in the epilogue she immediately bursts into laughter over him teasing Hunter

The dynamic between them has so much potential to be hilarious, just, so much

[professorjirt]

I’ve discovered my favorite genre of Bagginshield art is where Thorin is a lovesick idiot who is Losing It and Bilbo is unbothered or oblivious to Thorin’s suffering LMAO

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

jesus fuck the BBC4 Sherlock Holmes radio dramas are gay

I mean, I heard Mary accuse Watson of marrying her "under false pretence" while his heart belongs to Holmes

I heard Holmes and Watson reciting Tristan and Isolde to each other about "existing only in each other, wrapped in love"

but Watson being so scared to tell Holmes that someone wrote a play about him where he's straight! "you're not angry? it's hardly in character"

insane. hilarious. iconic.

[demonslayedher]

Wind down doodles while I am loopy on antibiotics, here's more Obatsune and Benmitsu

[solarpunkani]

"Oh no, someone's attracted to the aesthetics of my -punk movement but doesn't know the praxis and history behind it like I do--"

OK. Tell them. Make it a teaching moment. Everyone who's in your movement learned the background from somewhere at some point, maybe this is that point for that person. Give them a jumping off point that they can dive into later.

"Oh but I shouldn't be responsible for teaching baby -punks about the history and the how-tos and--"

OK. Then don't tell them. You don't have to be responsible for teaching people with a budding interest in your group the ins and outs and how-tos. That's fair and valid! It can be a lot of work. Someone else will handle it

"But I'm annoyed that they would try to claim to be part of/be interested in my community without knowing all the details that I know after being in it for months/years/decades, they're dumb, they're posers, they're--"

OK. Then don't engage with them, if it's that bad. Maybe someone else will come around and tell them the history, maybe they'll pick it up on their own, maybe they'll just enjoy the fashion elements for awhile.

"But they shouldn't claim to be part of the -punk community if they don't know the--"

I feel like we have a few options here. People can either talk to them, share the history, share the values, share the praxis. Or they can just chase off anyone who even thinks about dipping a toe in their community, and then wonder why it's dying off later down the line.

I dunno, maybe I'm too naive and patient or whatever. But if people are entering your -punk spaces without knowing The Rundown of what you feel they need to know, maybe being nice about it and informing people instead of immediately assuming stupidity and malicious intent could help you make a new friend. Even the loudest voices in a space had to learn from somewhere, and not everyone has the luxury of being in the space as the History was Happening--whether it's an age thing or a not being aware of the space thing. Or maybe I just don't see what the big deal is behind people hating people who like the aesthetic of something and don't know the behind the scenes history about it yet.

Because I believe in the word 'yet.' No one comes into this world knowing everything about everything, and we're all constantly learning new things. I'm not gonna degrade someone and call them a poser for not knowing what I know. Because if it were me, interested in a scene but getting chased out and called a poser? I wouldn't hit the books and study up, I'd go 'that fuckin sucks, those people sucked' and then avoid anyone and anything having to do with it.

So chase people off and call them posers if you want. But if your community starts dwindling, don't be fucking shocked.

[sunnibits]

potentially hot take but this is a pet peeve of mine

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I've seen the last '"g-d made you perfect" that I can handle, and it's led me to a realization about how I think of g-d.

I don't think we were made perfect. We were made human. And, if I'm honest, the only perfection in my mind is g-d, and that sense of perfection is what differentiates humans from g-d. If humans were as perfectly-made as g-d, I for one wouldn't see the point in following, believing, trusting, caring for, or loving g-d.

I guess for me, I see the ways in which humans alter the Way We Were Created that I really don't think it's right to speculate as to if there's a limit to altering our abilities or bodies. For instance, as a trans person, I've definitely been inundated with this idea that because g-d made my body "perfect" that I shouldn't alter it ever, but isn't that a dangerous precedent? Is it really so, that our bodies are magically made perfect, as g-d that to even tamper with the idea of change would be the same as cursing g-d? I really don't think that's compelling.

I love thinking about just how much g-d is placed into people, but I don't think it warrants restricting the ability to learn, create, grow, or change. Thank g-d that He created the ability to change!

[bambiraptorx]

[isbergillustration]

What’s the perfect follow up to doing lineart to the point of not insignificant hand pain? Detailed pencil work, the thing that once in art school I did so much I couldn’t draw for two weeks because of hand pain.

[snackugaki]

one orrrr

two?

[toffeebrews]

Despite NM being one of my least favorites he's one of my favorites to draw, his tentacles are fun and so are his colors

DO YOU SEE THIS SHIT THOUGH, ITS RIDICULOUS HOW INDECISIVE I AM

[verdemint]

Valentino Rossi about courage in Motogp (2009)

Translation oui!

I: "And courage? You must need courage (implied: to ride a bike)..."

V: "The courage is there. Courage is very important in our sport, but I think of it as having "bonuses"... like in a deck of cards you have four jokers, so you have four jokers in a season and those four times you can risk it and risk a lot, but if u go all the time beyond your limit then ... one time it's gonna go wrong"

[fiendishartist2]

smth i think ppl get wrong when writing jon is that he has to be a bitch but he cant be cruel. if you take away his bitchyness its not jon anymore, he just becomes a fanon husk of himself. but if you make him too mean, then you're forgetting the awkward politeness and humanity of jonathan sims. remember: he may be a stubborn dickhead, but he let martin stay in the archives without having to be asked, even back in season 1