Batman #408 and #416 are like. I know it's about how Bruce is scared to lose Dick and can see him growing up and becoming his own man, and Bruce in a real way never grew up because he never stopped being that scared little boy in the alley, and to him Dick was another scared little boy and they could be boys together (except Bruce was an adult when he met Dick and treated him as some weird amalgamation of partner and child, so it would never be equal!) And Bruce pushes Dick away with the flimsiest excuse because he's scared of Dick leaving on his own, and he lashes out because he wants to turn that inevitability into something he can control.
But. It's also very easy to interpret that through a brudick lens of Bruce realizing that he's in love with a now-adult Dick, except that was his ward and he knew Dick as a child and how can he be, and he pushes him away out of fear and self-loathing. Like I more perceive brudick for fun than actively ship it as something to write and explore, but man those issues are certainly a thing that makes u go hmmmm.
they have SO many issues and so many options for angles to explore said issues with and i am insane about them. like there really isnt an existing relationship to parallel them with because they do So Much all the time.
Dick is a child Bruce swore to protect, but he's also a proxy through which he sees his own child self, but he's also his equal partner who always has his back, but he's also a brother he's gone through so much with, but he's also an almost matriarchal figure who always takes care of him and comes back when he needs him, etc
Bruce is the man who saved Dick, but he's not a replacement for his dad, but he's not /not/ his dad, but he's also the partner he respects and values more than anything, but he's also someone he wants to protect, but he's also the kid who yells at him to leave while clinging to him and not letting go, etc
I could spend all day going on and on like have you seen these fucked up lil guys??? what's wrong with them!!! They need psychology papers written about them. I need to do their autopsys.
