Following The Mini Of Ithaca Thing.

Well now I wanna write a lil something :c

happy deathday to my baby boy😢sorry I'm late again.

Hear me out.

Dick gets a lot of fanmail, some creepy, some ok. So getting letters sent to the manor addressed to him isn't unusual. He doesn't throw them away just like that, not until he has time to sort through them.

One night, he's at the manor, and just to procrastinate something else, he decides to sort through old letters he never opened.

He finds some from one of his exgirlfriends, his first one in fact!

He figures it can't hurt, no matter what sort of insults those include, he's too over her to find them anything but amusing.

But when he opens them, it's not "How dare you leave me, Dick Grayson!" like he was expecting. It's more along the lines of "Hey, I'm pregnant and it's yours"

Ultrasound included.

And see, the problem is, this isn't his most recent ex, this isn't a recent letter. This letter is six years old. And so is his daughter, apparently.

Dick handles it as well as he can. But the return address on the letters is outdated and he has no way of contacting them, and he already missed six years of her life, and he doesn't even know her name, only her initial, C. He's lost and scared.

And then he sees her.

A shadow, sitting on his bed, darker than the human mind can comprehend, darker than anything he's ever seen, and he's been to space. It's unnatural. But it's her. He knows it. Except she disappears when he addresses her. And that same night, he dreams of her. No, not dreams. It's not his subconscious. She's real, and she's there, and she tells him pretty much that she's lost hope on him.

"Sweet dreams, Deadbeat." 

And that's it. He wakes up with a start, rushes over to the rooftop in blüdhaven where the dream vision took place, hoping to see her. He doesn't.

Now, here's the facts:

He has a daughter

She's six years old

She's angry with him

She's a meta

Whatever powers she has, they're scary enough that if the government knows...

Her name starts with C.

Her last name may or may not be Jones, depending on whether she took her mother's last name or she has some stepdad to give her a different last name.

That's all he knows. He doesn't have much to work with. Ah, and by the way, he's 23, her mother is 27, they dated 7 years ago— you do the math.

A few days later, he sees a kid on patrol, and he knows it's her. Except he's not Dick Grayson right now, he's Nightwing, and Nightwing isn't her father, Dick Grayson is. But hey, maybe he can find out her name or her address.

He doesn't. She's not willing to give him a name. Stranger Danger, she calls. And apparently she doesn't go by her given name, and whatever name she now goes by doesn't even start with a C. And apparently they go by any pronouns and some gender-neutral name that they won't tell him, so for now he has to conform with calling them Nugget.

And that night, talking with Jason, he realizes there are some red flags that he's not willing to ignore

So now the facts are these:

He has a daughter kid

She's they're six years old

She's They're angry with him

She's They're a meta

Whatever powers she has they have, they're scary enough that if the government knows...

Her name starts with C. They have some gender-neutral name they go by that started as a nickname

Her Their last name may or may not be Jones, depending on whether she took her mother's last name or she has some stepdad to give her a different last name.

They don't give a shit about gender or pronouns

There's a big chance that they're being abused in some way, shape or form.

They feel safer in the rooftops past midnight than tucked into their warm bed and that certainly says something

He needs to get them away from their mother, because that woman is not a good person, regardless of whether or not she abuses their kid (he was 14 when they met and she started getting ideas of dating her into his head, she was 18. No good person does that)

The fic exists btw, and that is just the beginning. Features the next:

Best friends Dick and Jason

Good Batfam all around

Emotionally mature Batfam (they went to therapy)

Damian emotional growth

Tim and Damian friendship

Damian and Nugget's friendship/sibling-hood

Good dad Dick Grayson

Agender kid

Meta kid

Hurt/comfort

Chronic pain Dick and kid

Mobility aid user kid and possibly Dick and their journey embracing it

Grandpa Bruce

Damian learning to be a kid (with emotions!)

A Trans character. (Nugget said Dysphoria? Double it and give it to the next person. The next person may or may not be Damian, undecided)

WARNINGS:

Excessive Drinking

Implied/referenced child abuse

Discussion of Gro0ming

Implied/referenced Self-harm/su1cide (one singular scene, as an assumption, not anything happening)

Implied/referenced terminal illness (Please do not read if this is triggering, I beg. NOTHING ends up happening, but it'll be discussed. THERE IS NO ILLNESS, but there is something similar)

Temporal main character death (maybe, probably, at least referenced)

Minor violence

HAPPY ENDING!!! I am unable to write a sad ending so rest assured, this is a COMFORT story, not angst.

Name: Shadows of New Beginnings By yours truly: WhiteRider on Ao3 Link

Here's the summary:

Inside the envelope is indeed an ultrasound photo. The date matches, it seems legit and the timeline matches, the development is right for a four month fetus too. His hands shake as he stares at it. No... ——— He checks the dates written in the back of the pictures. April 3rd. His beautiful daughter was born on April third. She's six years old. ——— "I'll find you, my beautiful daughter. I'll be the father you deserve, I promise." He whispers, tears soaking his pillow. "I promise." ——— "Sweet dreams, Deadbeat." ——— "I love you!" he screams, as loud as he can, praying she'll hear, she'll know. Then his breath feels like it's choking him, and all he can do is whisper "Please... come back."

—————

When Dick decides to sort through old mail, he finds unopened letters from an ex. From these letters, he finds out that he has a six year old daughter. Now he has to find her, make up for the years he missed, and make sure she's safe and home. Easier said than done, when his little girl is as fierce as him, and furious about his absence.

thank you, please comment, love y'all

Life cycle of our Sun, from beginning to end~

I've been listening to EPIC:The Musical on repeat for the last few days, and just so you know, I was this close to making one of my fics into a reincarnation fic (DC x EPIC. Especifically Epic and not The Odyssey because the whole fic revolves around music so it's fitting)

So the fic as it is is Tim being married to a woman named Wren, an OC. Together, they are musicians, they're a duo called Howling At The River, and their identities are hidden because Tim didn't want his parents knowing, so Tim is Wolfhart and Wren is Hummingwave.

They met when they were 5 and went from friends to lovers and ultimately eloped during the Brucequest, so his family doesn't know. It's not that he keeps it a secret, it's just that she's such an important and central part of his life that he thinks they know. They don't. They don't know he makes music either, because their identities are magically hidden and it hasn't been brought up.

It's a slice of life fic that I write in between my other fics to keep the creative juices flowing when I have none. It has no plot beyond the Batfam finding out Tim's married and is a relatively famous musician. Beyond that, it's slice of life and a bit of a ranting space because I gave her my disability so now when I'm in a flare, I write Wren in a flare, and she used to be a dancer but now she can't, because dancing was my dream and now I can't (though she did get training where I didn't get to). That's all there is to this.

I'm only two chapters in, and two drafts. So a lot can still change, so I almost made it a reincarnation fic.

Tim would be Odysseus, Wren would be Penelope. Not quite soulmates, not random people either. The Fates figured they made Odysseus suffer enough and took too much family time away from him, so they decided to reincarnate their souls over and over, but not in every lifetime did they find each other.

It is already stated in the first chapter that their meeting felt right, even if they were only five years old. Their love is beyond just love. It's adoration, worship, devotion. They're each other's whole world.

And then Ra's would take her.

And Tim would go full Odysseus on him. Full man-made monster. It's not a battle, it's a damn massacre, as Tim storms into Ra's base, slaughtering any and all assassins he finds. The rest of the Bats arrive a little late and go after him, following the trail of bodies, the absolute river of blood.

They try to stop him, because they don't kill. They'll get her back, just not like this.

Odysseus Tim is not having it. They took his Penelope Birdie. They're going to die.

And so he aims a bow he took from an assassin to them, to his family.

"Listen, I love you. But I love her more. And I will destroy anyone who stands in my way. So move, or I'll go through you." and he's not bluffing. There's no hesitation in his grip. If they try to stop him, they will get an arrow sent their way, whether it'd hurt them or end them isn't something they want to find out. So they let him through.

Meanwhile, Ra's has Wren tied up, and she's surprisingly unafraid. Maybe she's trusting that Tim will get to her. Or, Ra's thinks, maybe she's just stupid and naive.

He figures she can serve as training. There's a young prodigy, a preteen, son of assassins and raised as one as well. He follows orders, he's a natural at fighting, especially swords and bows. And so Ra's brings him forward and tells him to hurt Wren. Not kill—he wants her alive for now— but inflict pain on her.

The boy nods and unsheathes his sword. And then he looks into her eyes and he can't hurt her. He can't. It's not that he can't hurt people. It's not the fear in her eyes, or the lack of it. It's not the pity and compassion in her face. No, it's none of that. He can't put his finger on it, but he feels an unyielding loyalty towards her. He just met her, but he feels the need to protect her.

"Go on, boy."

But he can't. He can't. Ra's gets impatient, and he reaches for her, meaning to tug her up. The boy swings his sword.

Not to Wren. To Ra's. It makes a cut on his arm, superficial, but it's treason. It's a death sentence. Ra's draws his sword, disarms the boy, grabs him by the collar, and prepares to strike the boy down.

And then Tim storms in, shooting an arrow straight towards Ra's. He has tunnel vision right now, he sees red. He doesn't register the boy yet, he just wants Ra's gone.

The arrow misses him for a few inches, but it makes him flinch back and away from the boy, who immediately picks his sword back up, and instead of running, he fights off the other assassins that try to take Wren, while Tim fights Ra's.

Tim doesn't pull back this time. He stabs Ra's repeatedly (think Poseidon) and eventually cuts off his head. Will his death stick? Probably not. He then turns to kill the rest of the assassins, only to find most of them are already dead or wounded. He deals a final blow to the wounded ones and turns his sights on the remaining three assassins, two fighting one. An arrow to the throat takes one out, and the other's throat is slit by the young assassin.

Tim snarls, not trusting this assassin even though he killed the rest. The boy drops his weapons and raises his hands in surrender. He moves slowly, Tim's arrow aimed at his head the whole time as he leans down to take the keys to Wren's cuffs, telegraphing his moves.

"Why did you help her?"

"I don't know. I couldn't hurt her."

"Free her and run. Try anything and you're good as dead, kid."

"Yes, sir."

With slow moves, the boy gets on his knees before Wren, and his trembling fingers get the key into her cuffs. They fall to the ground, and he goes to open the ones on her ankles. Wren runs a hand through his hair.

And the world stops. For all three of them.

Memories of another life rush in. Of waiting, of fighting, of protecting. A husband, a wife, a child. A father, a mother, a son. Memories of days spent weaving, nights unthreading. Of a son protecting his mother from the suitors, of waiting for his father. Memories of fighting gods and ending lives to get to his family.

This is their son. Their Telemachus. Born on another age and to different parents, probably orphaned by Tim's hand, born halfway across the world, with another name, and only like ten years younger than them (they're 22), but their boy nonetheless.

Tim drops his weapons and they embrace. They're safe. Tim won't let anything happen to his son and wife.

"Telemachus..." Wren whispers, tilting the boy's chin up. The boy nuzzles into her palm.

"Mom..."

When the Bats catch up, Ra's is dead (at least for now) as are many other assassins, Wren is safe, and there's a twelve year old assassin being embraced by Tim and Wren.

"Who's that?"

"My son."

"...??? Tim you're twenty two."

"Hi, I'm Elliot."

"And he's my son, ages be damned."

"Ah, pulling a Bruce, I see you."

With their memories now awakened, Telemachus Elliot and Odysseus Tim are unbeatable. They have literally more than a lifetime of experience fighting, after all. Tim was always good, but now he's unstoppable. And he's the only one who can beat Elliot, though Dick is a tough challenge for the boy (not like he encountered many acrobatic-style fighters in Ithaca, or in the League)

Tim gets bolder with his strategies, no longer shy about them. He steps into Odysseus' leadership.

The boy eventually becomes a wolf themed vigilante. Not a bird because he doesn't answer to Bruce, he's not Batman's bird. He's his father's Little Wolf. Maybe Red Robin eventually changes to an owl themed vigilante (nod to Athena)

Father and son are unstoppable. They work with decades of teamwork, they move fluidly, reading each other's moves in a way no one else can.

And they speak Greek. They do so during patrol so that the enemy can't eavesdrop, or during planning, on instinct. They speak Greek between them when they're just hanging out, and they speak Greek with Wren when they want.

Speaking of Wren, they treat her like a Queen. Tim always has, she's his everything. But Elliot started treating her like royalty as soon as he got his memories. He makes her tea, reads to her aloud, and protects her like a loyal guard.

He's very protective of her when it comes to men. If anyone is even remotely creepy to her, he's going all out on them. Tim does so by ruining their lives and exposing their secrets, because he's better adapted to this lifetime. But Telemachus? The boy who had to listen to his mother's suitors talk about abusing her? The boy who guarded his mother's door with his life because if he didn't, they'd use her? He's not having any of it this time around.

One day, while Tim is at work, Elliot and Wren go to a mall. He insists on carrying her bags, even though she can do it. People assume he's her little brother, because again, she's 22 and he's around 12.

At some point, his gaze lingers on a toy section of a store, but he doesn't say anything because he doesn't want to leave his mom or make her wait. Luckily, she doesn't need to be told. She notices his longing gaze and encourages him to go check the toys out and get some if he wants while she checks out some clothes. It takes a little convincing, but eventually he agrees.

When he comes back, an owl plushie cradled in his arms, he sees a man ignoring Wren's boundaries and personal space. She repeats that she's married, asks him to leave her alone. He doesn't listen, and instead he reaches to grab her waist. Telemachus sees red.

The toy drops to the floor as he lunges at the man, landing a solid hit to his jaw. That usually would be enough for him, but this guy harassed his mom (just like them). He keeps hitting the man, and Wren knows it's a matter of time before security is called and they're escorted out, probably getting into trouble if he continues.

"Elliot, stop." he doesn't hear her, bringing down hit after hit "Elliot, that's enough!" but he's zoned in, the man pinned to the floor receiving the beating of his life.

"Telemachus!" she snaps. The boy snaps to attention and hurries to get off the man, getting into a soldier position, his focus on his mother, his Queen. He ignores as the man scrambled to his feet, but snarls in his direction as he hears a "crazy bitch" muttered. Wren leans down and picks up the discarded toy, and hands it to him.

"Thank you for defending me, sweetheart. I appreciate it. Let's just not get arrested, hm? Come on, kid."

When they tell all this to Tim, he high-fives his son. When Jason finds out, he buys him candy.

He's the kind of boy that holds other men accountable. Rape jokes and comments do not fly with him. He has and will punch guys twice his size for making those sorts of comments. "What was she wearing?", "she was asking for it", "shouldn't have been out/drunk/alone", "did she say no?", "playing hard to get" and comments of the sort are all one-way tickets to his shit list and probably the hospital, depending on if you double down or apologize.

Elliot is the kind of boy you'd trust with your drink at a party. The kind that covers them and hunches around them, glaring at anyone who comes close.

Also, from his late teens onwards, he acts as a sort of bodyguard for any girl who might need it. It started with a friend of his sitting next to him and asking if he'd do her a favor.

"So, you're... Intimidating."

"Oh? Oh! I'm sorry. Do I make you feel unsafe? Because I would never hurt you, and if it's something I do, please tell me and I'll-"

"No, a good kind of intimidating. The kind that wards off creepy guys. Look, I just, my little sister has a party she has to go to, and there might be a boy there that won't leave her alone. I was wondering if you could accompany her, make sure she's safe? I'll pay you! I can pay you by the hour, I don't care how much, I just want my sister safe and—"

"Hey, stop. Yes, I'll do it. I'll keep her safe. I charge one origami star per hour though." he jokes, because that specific friend makes origami stars all the time and he likes them.

And he goes to Jason to play up the whole "scary guy" vibes. And at the party, the boy approaches the girl, and Elliot looms behind her, and he leaves her alone.

He doesn't like parties, they overstimulate him, but he goes as a bodyguard to his friends so they can enjoy without creepy men. Sometimes he returns home with blood on his knuckles, and it's not his.

Also, just so you know, these two also kind of adopt Bart (who I made five years younger than Tim because creative liberties) and he and Elliot have a funny relationship because while Bart is older than him, Elliot can sometimes behave like the old soul he is. So they're in an eternal circle of "I'm the older sibling", "No, you're not", so they settled on twins.

Anyway, that was the idea I had. But I highly doubt it'll happen, because those who are reading the fic are there for wholesome interactions, not adventure, and they're there for Tim, not for Odysseus and Penelope. Also, I have never written action and I don't know if I could truly write the whole League of Assassins part the way it should be written.

Tim Drake Edits Reality

Hear me out. Tim Drake has always loved photography, that's wildly accepted and known. But what if he has powers too?

What if whatever Tim edits into his pictures becomes the truth?

The first time it happened, Tim was just starting his photography hobby. His parents bought him a camera and he was so exited! He took a picture of his mom's Rosebush, a single rose in the entire bush, half Withered.

Tim found the picture beautiful, and he started messing with photoshop, editing the withered flower back to the bright red it used to be. He decided it looked lonely and sad, the bush dry and the rose edited to be lively but alone in the middle. So he edited the dry areas of the bush back to the lively green and more roses in it. The picture looked very different from the original, but it was beautiful. Satisfied, he saved the end result.

That afternoon, when he walked through the garden, the very same dry rosebush he photographed looked just like his edited picture: lively, with rich colors and plenty of roses.

It made no sense, but he ignored it.

He kept taking pictures and editing them, though the changes were small, like the lighting and all that. Sometimes he made small changes, and he definitely noticed them and thought it was weird, but didn't quite connect the dots. He was kind of in denial. He couldn't be a meta or anything! Right?

And then his parents left for a few months and he was lonely, but he didn't want to admit it. And at school everyone was talking about their pets, and he messed up and lied. "I just adopted a Border Collie puppy!" he lied, thinking that would be it, people would forget, he would get out of the awkward situation (why did everyone have pets?) and nothing would happen. Well turns out, everyone wanted to see his puppy.

So Tim came home and prepared his camera, in his trusted tripod to look like it had been taken by someone else, and took pictures of himself, a whole photoshoot, with his arms stretched like carrying a dog, and then sitting like he was playing with it.

He searched for a perfect Border Collie puppy, one who had a whole photoshoot just for that one, so he could be sure the pictures were coherent and no one would question them. He carefully edited them and memorized every feature of his supposed dog in case anyone asked, to keep his story straight. Once satisfied, he sent them to those who asked for pictures, and received plenty of "cute dog!" compliments. It had taken him all day, so he went to bed almost immediately after, already past midnight.

He woke up to the very same blue eyed fluffy Border Collier puppy he edited into his pictures, licking his face, the same blue harness and leash hung on his door, and even the bed and bowls he put in the background were on the corner of his room now.

He freaked out, of course, but the small pup didn't seem all that worried. And apparently he now had a puppy? Well, he's always wanted one. He named her Frankie, because her multiple colors and patterns clashed like Frankenstein's monster, like she had been made for from mismatched parts.

He loved Frankie. She was so smart! And Frankie was quite loyal and enamored by him, too. He was her whole world, and she was his heart, his companion and confidant, his best friend and ally in his too-big house.

He did decide to experiment though. He needed more research.

When a boy at school picked on him, he edited his picture bald, and that same day his father shaved his hair. He tried again with another boy who picked on Jason (Jason doesn't know Tim exists yet, but Tim keeps an eye out for him), editing his hair bright barbie pink, and this time he added a date to the corner, writing the date of a week ago, two days before the pictures for his football team were taken.

When Tim saw the football team's pictures displayed at school, the boy had pink hair in them, that he didn't yesterday. He asked around, if the pictures looked different to anyone else.

"yeah, I don't know what persuaded him to dye his hair pink before picture day and the tournament."

"I asked him two days ago, he said he lost a bet."

Two days ago. Tim's mind was reeling. He asked the boy himself when he dyed his hair, and he replied with the date Tim edited on the corner of the picture.

Did Tim just... Edit reality?

He later uses this power to his advantage on patrol, and before that while watching the Bats.

Jason is surrounded? He takes a picture and edits a few goons out of it quickly. They aren't there when he looks up.

Shit Joker escaped? He doesn't have the energy to deal with it right now. He edits tonight's date on a picture of Joker sitting peacefully in his cell and a few more guards for good measure.

His family doesn't understand why he takes a small discreet camera on patrol in his utility belt

Give me Mexican Jason dancing Payaso De Rodeo in Park Row with other Mexican immigrants. Him teaching younger kiddos how to do it. Give me all the Mexican Gothamites having Posadas and fucking up a traditional Piñata (those are hard as fuck no mames) with their bare fists because yes, they're Mexican, but they're also Gothamites. The youngest ones do use the bat though.

Give me Jason belting Canciones De Señora™ while cleaning his safe houses and to other popular Latino Music when cooking or cleaning his guns or just randomly, and like, so very dramatically.

Like, imagine Jason just...

"Ven y cuéntame la verdad Ten piedad Y dime por qué, no, no no, oh ¿Cómo fue que me dejaste de amar? Yo aún podía soportar Tu tanta falta de querer" he looks at a picture of Tim as Robin, feeling replaced and unloved

"Hace un mes solía escucharte Y ser tu cómplice" he looks at a picture of Batman and him as Robin "pensé que ya no había—" he turns around to find Dick, who just sneaked into his safehouse, leaning against a wall.

"Don't stop on my account. Carry on."

"No, I was just... Nothing. Just. Uh. Looking through cases."

"And singing?"

"Yeah. Uh... Helps me process."

"Riiight."

But before that,

But before all that, give me this little fucker making Tamales on February 2nd. Give me this fucker making Pan de Muerto and Rosca de Reyes respectively. Give me this fucker making Chiles En Nogada and watching his family eat them happily.

Give me Bruce, Dick and Alfred learning about Mexican foods and traditions and continuing them on his behalf once he dies.

Give me them putting up his Ofrenda for Día de Muertos, with Pan de Muerto and his favorite foods, and his Robin mask. Give me them finding comfort on Día de Muertos because he's supposed to visit, right?

Give me Tim seeing this Ofrenda and shaking, falling to his knees. Give me him staying there on Día de Muertos, begging for forgiveness, promising he's not trying to replace him. Just in case he does visit.

Give me Jason knowing deep down that they set up an Ofrenda for him, because he may not remember what his soul did while he was dead, but he has a feeling, deep down, that maybe he visited.

Give me Jason teaching his family after reconciliation to dance Payaso de Rodeo and them treating it like endurance training, dancing again and again and again until one of them collapses or sits out.

What can I say? I'm Mexican, and I love my Mexican Jason Todd headcannon.

my dumbest little headcanon but you can pry it out of my cold dead hands is that Tim has a resting bitch face so severe it's terrifying, but can give off any vibes he wants when he puts a little effort in it.

He can fake a smile so perfectly that no one could know, but his family and friends do, because of one simple reason.

His nose scrunches when he smiles genuinely. He is not aware of it and his family and friends find it adorable.

You can pry it out of my cold dead hands I swear to god, this boy scrunchies his nose and can't replicate it if it's not genuine. It's the slightest thing generally, but when he truly laughs his whole face squishes and his nose scrunches and his eyes close. It's very hard to make him laugh so much and so genuinely.

pls tell me your batfam headcanons I need inspiration

Quetzalcoatl but make him tiny and white

Now even our gods are getting whitewashed smh /j

It's so cute

ooc. Winged snake i found on Pinterest

So yeah TW/CW for Snakes

It's not quite the fact that Tim is smart what makes him their favorite. I mean, Bruce loves them all the same, and while Janet will always love her little boy the most, it's not by much, she loves the others. But Ollie and Lex? It's one thing the kids that one of their best friends adopted, and sure, they're smart and charming and don't get me wrong, they adore them. But Tim is in a whole other level, not so much because of his own personality but because they've loved him since before he was born.

See, Janet in this AU had a difficult pregnancy, but she always wanted to be a mother, and Jack only married her because of the social ladder and agreed to a child because it's expected of them and because she insisted. But he doesn't love her. And he didn't stay by her side during the hard pregnancy— you know who did? Lex, Ollie and Bruce. They watched Tim grow inside Janet's belly, they were there for the ultrasounds, they helped her pick out a name, and they waited in the hospital for Tim to be born. They held him in their arms and they watched as he fought and clung to life. They visited him every day in the NICU and read/talked to him. They did everything in their power (read: threw money at the best doctors and build their own NICU and tech) for him to just make it to his first few months. His first birthday may as well have been the biggest achievement.

They changed his diapers and raised him from scratch, the four of them (plus the occasional involvement of Jack). They taught him how to Person. They were there for his first words, fists steps, first everything. For four whole years he was the center of their little universe. For four full years, it was just four best friends and the little guy.

And then Dick came along, more than twice Tim's age (tim's 4, Dick's 10 because I want him a little older) and raised by his own parents, with his own ideals and personality and temper. His own little person, impressionable as he may be.

Now, Dick is Bruce's everything, his son, his whole damn world. He adores Dick. Everyone does! Ollie and Lex love the little guy, too, that's their nephew. Janet adores him, she's so glad that Tim is not the only kid anymore and that he gets along with Dick. Dick is charming and brilliant, and so kind and yet so fiery and fierce and angry. They love the little shit.

But this is their nephew, as opposed to their pretty much co-parented by all of them child. The only Firsts they get from Dick are his first day of school and first gala. Bruce of course isn't included in this, he loved Dick just as much as Tim and Dick's his baby, and he got his first fight and first weapon and first night as Robin, but none of the others know this. Janet isn't included either because no matter how much she loves Bruce's kids, they don't compare to her own son (yet, at least)

Then Jason comes along. Snarky, skittish, sarcastic little fucker, they love him. He's the happy one of the brothers (Dick and Jason, Tim's not included yet). But again, he's not a baby they get to raise from scratch (tim's 6, Jason's 10, Dick's 12). This doesn't prevent them from loving the two little shits like family, they ARE family, but they're their nephew, Tim's their kid. I repeat, they took turns raising the gremlin, he's their collective co-parented son more than a nephew, while they don't get to raise Jason and Dick, partly because Bruce doesn't go away half as much as Janet does, and when he does they either come with or stay with Alfred.

Also, they know Oliver is Green Arrow but he doesn't know they know, and he doesn't know they're the Robins.

My point is, they don't go stay with Lex or Ollie almost at all, while Tim has a room in each of their homes.

Let me clarify that this is not a biological vs adopted thing.

When Damian comes along, he's raised by both Janet and Bruce (already together) but not by Lex or Ollie. Again, he's their nephew, but not on Tim's level despite being Bruce's bio son, because they didn't get to raise him either. He's on Dick and Jason's level, which is pretty high up. It's like the difference between your siblings and your best friend. You'd kill for either, but you probably love one of them just a little more fiercely.

Also, Tim literally changed the course of Lex's life by just existing. He's a lot less evil just so Janet won't take him away, and if you asked him who his favorite person in the whole universe is, he'd answer Tim without hesitation— not his family, not Bruce, Ollie or Janet, but Tim. He would burn down the world (literally) for him.

Ollie would answer Roy, but Tim is a close second, and the rest of his nephews, then his best friends (good dad Ollie here)

Think about it like Tim being Lex's almost-kid. The rest of the friend group each has at least one child, but he has enough with Tim, up until he makes Kon and learns to love him, but Kon wouldn't be his child if it weren't for Tim convincing him to raise him like a kid and not a weapon.

Ok, hear me out. An AU where Janet Drake is best friends with Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen.

They met in school, and she's a high society girl, not expected or allowed to be much more than a pretty face, but there's this trio of smart idiots (they did all sorts of stupid stuff at school, but they are overall very, very smart), and they're in all sorts of cool classes and extracurriculars, and she wants to learn

So, she snakes her way into the group with well-timed looks and blushes. They eventually include her in all their activities, and so she learns all sort of stuff that she usually wouldn't be allowed to learn, because they help her keep it in the down low. No, she's not taking classes with them, she's being a proper lady and cheering her smart friends on through the oh-so-hard classes.

At some point or another, they all develop a crush on her, fleeting as it may be (they're hormonal teens and they're required to flirt, it was bound to happen)

They flirt publicly, as it keeps the media from pressuring them into relationships— or so they thought. It backfires when they're adults, the media is demanding Janet settle down and stops leading all three of them on. But there would be a scandal if she picked any of them, so she picks Jack, someone who doesn't love her or she loves, but someone desperate enough to climb the social ladder to care if he loves his wife.

When he's not allowed to flirt anymore, that's where Bruce realizes that he actually liked her.

When Tim comes along, and Janet has to go on trips, she leaves him with her trusted friends. So, Tim learns a lot from his Uncle Lex, learns to shoot a bow from his Uncle Ollie, and loves staying with his Uncle Bruce and his children. He figures him out far too easily and does become Robin when Jason figures he's ready to pass on the mantle to his little brother (because they're brothers. Tim spends a lot of time in their house)

Bruce adores Tim, he really does. It just kinda hurts, that he's Janet's kid, but not his.

Eventually, Janet divorces Jack, and she gets to spend a lot more time in Gotham. But by now Tim is as much Bruce's as he is Janet's, so they co-parent the gremlin that is her son, which leads to a lot of time with Bruce.

Bruce treats her better than Jack ever did, and she trusts him far more. They have the memories of years together. Eventually, Bruce tells her the truth— that he never truly moved on from his best friend.

When they marry, sure it's a media circus, but also not a surprise.

She's also a good mom, to Tim as much as to Dick or Jason.

When Jason finds out Catherine is not his mom, sure he gets curious, but he has a mom already, he's happy. He does want to meet his bio mom, but he agrees to do so safely, not go alone. Fine, B, you can come with.

Joker never happens. Jason is disappointed when he finds his mom is not at all what he expected, and he has a much better one at home.

Eventually, when Damian comes into the picture, he's snappy with Janet. "you will never be my mother, you harlot!" but Janet simply puts a hand on his shoulder and speaks calmly, yet sharp as the blade he threatens her with

"You will not speak to me like that, boy. No, I am not your mother. But I am married to your father, and I hold the authority as such, so you will go up to your room, you will cool down, and you will never threaten or insult me again, or you will be grounded."

"You can't do that!"

"She can. She has my full permission to discipline my kids, Damian. In this house, she holds as much authority as I do." Bruce interjects

Damian, begrudgingly, learns to respect Janet, and eventually he does see her as a second mom

The amount of times Oliver or Lex visit the Wayne-Drake household is absurd, but sue them, they like their friends. This leads to a lot of chaos, because every time Oliver visits so does Roy, and Roy hangs out with Dick and Jason, while Damian sticks to glaring at everyone.

Meanwhile, they dote on Tim, because they sure as hell have a favourite nephew, and it's the one they watched grow inside the belly of one of their best friends, the one they all changed the diapers of, the one they've taught a lot of skills to, the one they helped raise in a way they never helped raise any of the other Wayne boys. They don't even try to hide their preference. Now, of course they like all their nephews, but it's always hilarious because when Tim is around his uncle Lex, he's ten times the evil mastermind he generally is, and Oliver encourages it, simply for the chaos, and so does Janet, while Bruce is downright terrified of the idea of Tim as a villain (everyone is)

Hallucinating while doing homework fucking sucks. That's it, that's all I wanted to say.