All of my s/is are Tea bats (or blood cuz vamp lol)
Empress: Neither. Blood is her only source of beverage cuz its a Creature
Mukago:
-> Canon: Neither. Similar Empress, she can only drink blood because she's a demon
-> My Modern AU: Both. I see her drinking coffee in the morning to prepare for the bullshit at her job. But she loves a nice afternoon tea on her off days
N Gin:
-> IAT: Neither. Dude can't drink coffee and tea takes too long. He's an impatient fuck. Kerosene or petroleum in his cup is all he needs to help him power through
-> Radical: Tea. Dude shouldn't be trusted with coffee. He's already energetic enough. He doesn't need more energy.
Nic: Coffee. She gives me a black coffee or straight espresso kinda vibe. Nice and classy
Oswald: Coffee. His canon coffee order is black coffee with two lumps of sugar
Peri and Gale: probably tea. Not a lot is known about them (plural)
Reala: Tea. Cuz brit lol. And since they're connected to dreams and more teas help with sleep than coffee does. Although dealing with NiGHTS makes him wish she could have a taste of coffee.
Zavok: Blood or tea. "I prefer blood over water." And his master is very shifu/sensei coded and has most likely drilled the proper way to make and prepare tea into Zavok's skull
Now, to this month's subject: Disability Pride. I have a lot of f/os who are canonically or I headcanon as disabled
N Gin canonically has severe brain damage and chronic migraines. That rocket destroyed a solid portion of the right half of his brain. And he has a cybernetic arm in the most modern two games (IAT and Team Rumble). Also his brain damage is much MUCH worse in the Radical Era, too. I'm toying with the idea of him having some kind of personality disorder (caused by both his past and worsened by the rocket) or just simply brain damage-induced psychosis, as well, but that's not set in stone rn.
Nic is blind in one eye. In canon (or what was supposed to be canon but didn't make the cut), she was killed off screen from a shoot off with her brother. She survived it in my take but lost an eye.
Most takes of Penguin are disabled in some way shape or form. Be it a limp (from a fucked up leg or hip), lack of dexterity in his hands cuz of syndactyly, or simply being too short for every day life. DCAU and Returns Oswald have the limp and syndactyly (ignoring the fact that TNBA Oz has normal hands. People headcanon he got surgery on his hands). But 04 Penguin has the syndactyly and lack of height problem. He's half a foot shorter than the other two birds. He can't even drive without the Kabuki Twins. And uses his ravens to help him with daily tasks. I say he doesn't have the limp because he is just too damn dexterous.
Peri and Gale are both on the mute spectrum. They speak through morse code with their claws tapping and scratching on surfaces or soft hisses.
Reala, to me, had C-PTSD and chronic pain. With how much trauma that Wizeman put them through both physically and mentally, they aren't coming out completely unscathed even with the fact they can bounce back after every single encounter. And I say chronic pain because I've seen a few headcanons regarding the grey bandages on their Journey of Dreams design being compression tape used to deal with chronic pain.
(If anyone in the comments who have any of the disabilities that could tell me their experiences with them in the comments that would be awesome. I really want to learn more about it so I can write it as best as I could. I only have ADHD and Autism and some experience with people with PTSD, severe migraines, and chronic pain; immediately family suffers from all three)
Just to say this, I am not villainizing these disbilties just because I'm headcanoning villains with them. Most of my f/os turn evil either from their past, a single breaking point in their life made them evil, or were created/born evil. I am just a disabled bat who loves villains, is all.
@spacemanxpaninis Sorry about that, Frankie, I pressed post too early when I was backing out to double check something
I've gushed endlessly about my birds, you can check out my Ozattie tag if you wanna learn more about them.
To answer your question, my versions of my three favorite takes of are pretty close to canon. My selfship with Batman Returns Penguin the closest to canon, the only difference being it takes place in an alternate timeline where Oswald becomes the mayor and Battie is his secretary.
His backstory, if you haven't watched the movie is: he was born to the wealthy Cobblepot family but was abandoned as a child due to his deformities and his homicidal tendencies (he literally killed the family cat when he was only an infant), left to he raised by literal penguins and a traveling circus. The Red Circus became a gang that he lead as an adult until they abandoned him because he went WAY TOO FAR with his plans in the movie.
Battie's backstory is unknown. When she was human, she was a feared serial killer and cannibal that was sentenced to death but was set free by a scientist that ran experiments on her, kinda like the Burton-Schumacherverse version of Bane, and turned her into a half-bat monster.
They fell in love when Max Shreck appointed Battie to be Oswald's secretary if the mayoral plan succeeded. It didn't at first (Oswald dies in the movie, but had he survived) but he managed to weasel his way back into the limelight through his wit and charisma alone, mixed with Battie's brutality, picking off his competitors one by one. She plays the role of the ditzy secretary by day to ease suspicion. Nobody thinks the kind and clumsy secretary is secretly a killer.
They're both crazy and evil and weird and I loved writing their shenanigans
DCAU Penguin is arguably the second closest to canon as I'm merging both his noble background and his background as a worker at his mama's pet store. He was raised noble, but after his father died of pneumonia (said event lead his mom to he deathly afraid that Oswald would get it from being out in the rain so she told him to keep an umbrella on him at all times) , the family fell on hard times and Esther, Oswald's mother, opened a pet store to make a living. However, it fell victim to gang violence and Oswald had to get the help of a gang to save the shop but he couldn't save his mother. Now he wants to regain the respect his parents had as members of high society but can't seem to abandon his criminal ways.
Battie's backstory is the least fleshed out but was a traveling crook-for-hire as an adult. She doesn't even remember how they became a bat monster to begin with.
She met Oswald they were both on a heist but had to go their seperate ways. They talked briefly when they could and became friends until they were stationed at the same factory to work of their sentences at Stonegate Penitentiary where they promised they'd be together when they got out.
Years passed and Oswald is making comeback with the opening of his Iceberg Lounge and Battie comes in as the first act on opening night. This is THE Battie he promised his hand to and the pair get together as promised and Battie is a frequent singer for the Iceberg Lounge and his information broker in his criminal business while also runnung the Longue when Oswald's not avaliable.
My take of 04 Oz is by far the least canon because I put my own spin on his childhood and what lead him to be hellbent on regaining his family fortune through criminal means. I actually went into detail on it in my Not All Bats fic which there is a link to on my pinned profile if you wanna check it out after this. To summarize: Oswald was born to the wealthy Cobblepot Family in Manchester England but after the family fell on hard times, moved to Gotham. His parents died and since criminals were the one that took all of his family's money, he became a criminal to get it back. Along the way meeting the Kabuki Twins, his bodyguards and girlfriends.
This Battie was a normal woman born near Metropolis who moved to Gotham to work for Dr Langstrom in his bat research. However, this research was a cover-up for his schemes to make a syrum to turn himself into the Man-Bat so Gotham would fear him. Battie found out about this and he tested a prototype of it on her, turning them into a bat monster.
She lives in Oswald's attic for a few years (between the Pets episode and after the show ends), living off the roaches and rats that fester in his abandoned manor and stealing his leftovers until he finds her, giving them the name Battie. He hires her because they seem useful to him but ends up falling in love with her. Battie is hella on board to be his girlfriend and the Kabuki Twins' girlfriend as well and shenanigans ensue for the four.
I forgot to do this while LGBTQ+ pride month was still going on, but here are my LGBTQ+ headcanons for all of my f/os (as of now). I'll specify if something is canon, as well.
Empress, ace at least, aroace at most (still deciding). Creatures are not sexual creatures at all. And she is more focused on taking down its targets than anything else. And with her targets out of the way (James and Kate won and escaped but Empress somehow came back. She survived so much gunshot from two uzis and a few grenades to the eyes. I think she can handle getting knocked out by an oncoming train. Just unconcious for a long time.
Mukago, bisexual. I always loved the ships of her and the other lower moons, all of which are men.
N Gin (au not dependant) is a disaster bi. If you played any of the games, you know how smitten he is with Cortex despite all the man put him through. And he was still smitten when he saw a woman... who was actually Cortex in disguise. The dude's a walking disaster through and through as well.
Nic is a lesbian. The only ship I've seen her that's legal is with Fiona the Fox. Plus she never gave me the vibe that she was into men.
Oswald, it depends on the version of the character. DCAU gives me straight ally vibes but I also wouldn't put it past him if he actually was bi or anything more. Plus, I'm genderfluid so he's automatically queer. And I've seen so many headcanons of him being like a Stonewall-era or earlier gay man and I'm all for that take. Returns DEFINITELY BI OR PAN! Dude was so into women that I wouldn't be surprised if he was into some kind of man too. Bro has definitely smashed all of his gang members at least once. Also a walking disaster, just like N Gin. And 04 Ozzy is Bisexual and Polyamerous. With how he flirts with the Kabuki Twins and Catwoman, dude likes having multiple partners. Also I like seeing art of him and 04 Riddler and I like.
Peri and Gale (The Kabuki Twins), bi. They're with Penguin. They're with me. What more can I say?
Reala, canonically Agender. I see them as aceflux or abrosexual. Kinda shows in their two moods: refined and orderly to a complete sadistic menace. Sometimes they're repulsed by the idea. Sometimes they're completely for it.
Zavok is definitely not straight, I'll give you that much. I've seen too much gay art and takes of him with Zazz or Vector. That man conquers both sides of the battlefield. However, he seems like the kind of person to be focused on a legacy to pass on, whether it be for potential heirs or students, doesn't matter to him.
Do you have a favorite season? My personal fav is s2
(Also I'm def yumeshipping with that ver of Bruce 😚 actually I've drawn a little bit already)
Omg hi Red ^^
Batman 2004 is so underrated. I really wanna see your art of your sona and Bruce:3
But to answer, I actually don't have a favorite season lol. But I do have favorite episodes, off the top of my head they're:
- Call of the Cobblepot
It is a very good first impression episode for Penguin. It shows what he's all about. Who he is. Why he's doing stuff. And that scene where he's fighting Batman in his aviary and he's getting so mad/passionate that's he's literally frothing at the mouth gets me every time. Also the Kabuki Twin's jingle gets stuck in my head every time.
- Bird of Prey
Just any of Penguin and Alfred's interactions in that episode are top notch. And when he's holding Batman in front of the camera, I'm like "MOVE BATMAN, THAT MAN IS MINE!" /j Also Oz being dragged away on a stretcher makes me laugh. And that muzzle on his face tells you this man bites.
- Team Penguin
I love how it shows just how selfish Penguin is. And, like in all episodes, he gets his comeuppance. His interactions with Killer Moth after Mothy mutates are so cute. Also Robin beating the shit out of Ozzy is so funny
I'm biased okie uwu I love this version of Penguin so much
Highly recommend you check out the Batman vs Dracula movie. It's how I fell in love with Ozzy in the first place and it's currently free on YT
2. What is your f/o's most unorthodox act to show love?
Battie doesn't consider much unorthodox considering how their brain is wired, all she's been through with the Empire, and just how accepting she is of a lot of things. After all, both Battie and Zavok kill for each other. However, it continues to surprise Battie when Zavok brings home the heads of their enemies (whether it's Battie's enemy or a shared enemy, doesn't matter), not for Battie to drain the blood from but as a trophy. She considers it a waste of food. Sometimes she rants to the heads like they're still alive cuz she's kooky like that.
19. How does your f/o attempt to impress you? Does it work?
Battie is continously impressed by Zavok without the Zeti even trying. Learning more about how he fights. How he is. And skills she didn't even know he had. She finds his knowledge and competence very attractive. Plus, Zavok knows he doesn't need to impress Battie to earn their affection as he's generally a very affectionate person. But it doesn't stop him from impressing her regardless. How he shows this off is what he gathers from his hunts (both actual hunting and his invasions) and the fruits of his labor. She'd attend them if she weren't so busy living their double life. (That he knows of, dw)
3. What made you fall for your f/o?
How *i* fell in love is a funny story actually. A while back,, I found a post (referenced here) that compared N Gin and Matsudaverse Penguin and i immediately clocked the similarities. Short, chunky, ginger, crazy, struggles to get bitches. Fast forward to a few months ago when I added N Gin to my F/O list, on the tailend of my hyperfixation, I found The Batman vs Dracula for free to watch on YT, looked into it before watching, found out Penguin is in it, and gave it a watch. OMG PENGUIN WAS SO FUCKING FUNNY. I wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time. And I found out his Kabuki Twin henchwomen are hot (badass women are my kryptonite, okay) so I'm love with both him and his ladies
How Battie (my sona) fell in love with him? She didn't even consider it to be a possibility until Oswald pitched the question because, like Battie, he also finds badass women hot. It's why he turned down Catwoman (even if it was just for a bit) for Peri and Gale. And most Penguin iterations give me (mainly Arkhamverse and that was one of my introductions to the character as a whole) the vibe that he likes to have multiple partners.
10. What role do you play within your f/o's villainy? A peer? An onlooker? Perhaps the one to try to stop them? What've you got?
-> Empress: Onlooker. Battie cannot physically stop her even if they tried.
-> Mukago: Onlooker for Modern AU. Chicory could pry Mukago away from her work (she works for a cartoonish evil politician) if they wanted to but chooses not to. But it doesn't mean it hasn't crossed Chicory's mind.
-> N Gin: Bat-Terry is his partner in crime. Any crimes he commits post IAT or post MoM, she's involved.
-> Nic: Battie is directly involved with Nic's villainy as they become her personal killer.
-> Oswald + Peri and Gale: Former lackey and explained in Question 19
-> Reala: Victim/Onlooker (Reala was supposed to go after me like I'm a normal visitor but somehow didn't---based on actual dreams I've had with them in it) turned "good." Wizeman ditched them and I gave them a place.
