graydaughters:luanna255:If Dick waited for Bruce to initiate these conversations, they would literal

graydaughters:luanna255:If Dick waited for Bruce to initiate these conversations, they would literally never discuss anything, seriously.You know what kills me about this, though? It’s not that Bruce doesn’t care about Dick or what he’s doing with his life, IMO. If there’s one thing that’s been established over and over in Batman canon, it’s how much Dick means to Bruce and how much Bruce cares about him. But somehow, he trips over himself when it comes to expressing it, even with something as simple as saying “Hey, Dick, how are you?”I also wonder if, to some degree, Bruce saw (sees?) Dick’s new life as something he doesn’t have the right to get involved in, even by asking about it. Like he says here: “I assumed you wanted to get out of my shadow, make a name for yourself. You’ve done that. Created a life. Fought your own fights… I didn’t have the right to call you back.” I wonder if in Bruce’s mind, that mentality went so far that he thought he needed to distance himself completely from Dick’s new life. Even though he was the one who created the separation. Even though Dick was clearly trying to reach out and bridge the gap. I think in Bruce’s mind, that rift had been created and he just didn’t know how to close it. So instead he reacted by lashing out at Dick, and pushing him away, and generally acting like he didn’t care. And acting like the whole thing was Dick’s fault even though, of course, he was the one who fired Dick in the first place. (Not that that’s my preferred canon, personally, but it’s crucial to understanding these scenes.)But what just kills me about all of this is that Bruce just can’t see, or doesn’t care, the way this sounds to Dick. Like, when he’s all “Uh… well…” when Dick asks if Bruce has any interest in what he’s been doing since he left, you can just see Dick hearing that as “Uh, well, actually I’m not particularly interested, no. I’ve replaced you with a newer, sassier model, and I honestly don’t care terribly much about you or what you’ve been doing with your life anymore.”  (Bear in mind, this confrontation is what happens right after Dick finds out Bruce replaced him with Jason behind his back.)And Dick could so easily leave it at that. Honestly, in his place, I think I’d be tempted to just say “Well, okay, screw you. If you can’t be bothered to act like you give a damn about my life, you don’t have to be part of it.” It’s certainly the logical counterpoint to how Bruce is acting.But Dick doesn’t. Because that’s not who Dick is. And it doesn’t matter how hard Bruce tries to shut him out, it doesn’t even matter if some part of Dick himself believes it’s a wasted effort and Bruce just doesn’t care, he’s still going to try. He’s still going to reach out and include Bruce in his life, and if Bruce can’t be bothered to open his damn mouth to so much as force out some pleasantries, then Dick’s just going to do the talking for both of them. Like it or not.It’s just, ughhhh. Dick. My darling boy. These are the moments that make me just want to fling my arms around him and hug him for about an hour, because it’s not a wasted effort, and Bruce does care, but even when Dick can’t see that, he’s trying anyway. And he shouldn’t have to try nearly that hard, and a person with a lesser capacity for love would have given up on Bruce long ago, but Dick just doesn’t have that self-protective instinct, for better or worse. And so he’ll just keep putting himself out there, and he’ll keep on trying to get through to Bruce, even when it’s like talking to a stone wall.I just. How can you not love this boy?!Brilliant commentary; just want to add Bruce’s response to the second set of panels:So, Bruce secretly keeps tabs on Dick, allowing him to watch out for Dick from a distance without actively interfering in his life? (Because, as you pointed out, Bruce doubts his right to be involved in Dick’s life … but worries about him anyway.) It’s certainly a very Bruce thing to do: be distantly protective.Then there’s also the fact that Dick is so accustomed to (what he perceives as) being ignored by Bruce that when Bruce does try and help out/involve himself in Dick’s problems, Dick feels like Bruce is doing so because he doesn’t think Dick is capable of handling things on his own. He feels like Bruce is just there to judge him and ends up resenting his presence. When, in fact, Bruce’s intentions are the exact opposite:I feel like a lot of Bruce’s hesitation in the above situations stems from his emotional cluelessness; not knowing how to get involved without overstepping his limits, seeming intrusive and annoying Dick.Ah, these two and their communication issues. (On an unrelated note: Dick’s goofy grin as he says ‘so you do care’ is just aww. Of course Bruce cares. It’s just that his way of communicating his concern is so different from Dick’s, they might as well be speaking different languages. Thankfully they grow more adept at translating each other with time. ) -- source link

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