What if like, Dick was a fanfic writer? I saw a post where like, Dick was a long standing AO3 author, and Jason and Tim were too- but they didn't know Dick was a writer.
Like, he vents and writes about himself through his fics. I loved the idea. And ofc Dick knew Jason and Tim wrote bcs Big Brother and all.
*cackles* yes . . . yes . . . . a good idea indeed . . .
Dick: *walks into his new brother's room* hey jason, how are you doing?
Jason: *looks over the top of his computer* uh . . . good?
dick: *being nosy* WHAT are you doing?
jason: uh . . .. writing
dick:
dick: what kind of writing?
jason: stories
dick: stories about what?
jason: people
dick: this is extremely suspicious
jason: i'm aware
dick: *walks out and mutters to himself* I wonder if he's a ffn or LiveJournal kid
Dick finds his account that ngiht, having searched through pride and prejudice fics and found the most recently updated ones. after reading the ANs---in which the author talked about getting kidnapped by a billionaire and then didnt' respond to any of the concerned comments---he knew it was jason. from then on, he subscribes to all of jason's stories. he leaves comments on every one, acting as a sort of fandom mentor to the 12 year old who barely knows how to write. as time goes on, jason tells him thanks in ANs and waits specifically for that profile's comments on a chapter. dick never reveals his identity.
dick, neck-deep writing star trek and star wars fanfiction, is one of the larger authors on whatever platform they're using.
when he stops posting for about a year, people take notice. he has over four unfinished fics, and has said not a word about his hiatus. a lot of fans theorize he's dead. a few people think the same of a jane austen fic author, but he's not popular enough for it to cause the waves dick's disappearance did.
when he reappears almost a year later, his AN, in which he states simply, "I'm sorry, guys. had a sudden death in the family and lost my will to write.", causes a lot of concerned comments and well-wishes. he doesn't respond to any of them, his interaction with subscribers severely diminished, but he reads every one.
the little-known jane austen author starts updating again as well. in the first AN since their hiatus, it explains that the original author of the fic died. it says that the new author is their brother, who has decided to continue writing their fics in their stead. a lot of people think it's a joke, and the account goes slightly famous for it. the fics are slowly and diligently updated, not yet ended but certainly not lacking in quality.
the kid writes BATMAN FANFICTION on fucking AO3. don't ask dick how he knows this, the shit he had to wade through to find that account . . . god, he's going to kill whoever invented rpf. especially for Nightwing. and batman. and robin. point is, this time he's straight about it. he tells tim that he writes as well, and he shows him how he's been continuing jason's fics since his other brother died. tim starts to help out. he reads four jane austen novels, annotates all with highlights and everything, and then? right then? walking through the library and seeing tim so dedicated to something that, in the long run, means so little? seeing tim commit and spend so much time on something that only one who knew jason should have cared about?
that's the moment that he decides that maybe, just maybe, he has room in his heart for another little brother. and maybe, just maybe, this one won't leave it in ruins like the last one.
two years later, and jason todd takes his first real breath since waking up in his grave. covered in green lazarus water and half out of his mind, he's cognizant for the first time in over a year. and damian, the boy he'd not left for more than five minutes since waking, told him that his father had replaced him. that there was a new robin. jason, so out of his mind with anger, is afraid he'll yell. scream. scare damian, which is the last thing he wants to do right now. the very thought of it horrifies him. damian was meant to trust him, and he was meant to trust jason. so jason asks for a computer. he tells talia that its so he can prepare, so that he can catch up on the world in order to return to gotham vengeful---but that's not the truth. or at least, not the whole truth. after looking through the news, after reading up on articles about his own death and the joker's latest killing sprees, after making sure Nightwing was still partolling, he goes to the one place he's always felt entirely calm---the fanfiction website. he logs on, intending to catch up on his own stories, and to his shock---he finds his fics almost finished. two he'd thought incomplete were done, and . . . had more saves than he'd ever through possible. the others were so close to being done, and had the same situation in their notes.
someone had been writing his fics for him.
and sitting there, damain against his side, reading over his shoulder, he goes through each and every author note that he knows he didn't write. there are over twenty of them, and he has to search for the first one after his death, but he eventually finds it.
"Ahki?" Damian asks as he reads, voice thoughtful. "I thought we had no other brothers."
Jason, vision slightly misty, swallows. "We do. We have an older brother. He . . . well, I guess he was the one to do this."
Damain, having read the entire note, nods. "He appears to be a good brother."
Jason's voice cracks. "Y-yeah. He is."
That night he takes Damian and leaves, heading for America. but not gotham---no, dick opens his door one night in bludhaven to find his dead brother and a toddler waiting for him.
the first words out of Jason's mouth are, "You had to kill off Bingley? Really?"