Yeah, I think maybe it's translating from fighting each other more to I got your back, bro. Like that's always been a thing, but instead of coexisting alongside I will kick your ass, it comes to the forefront. Sparring on occasion to keep their skills sharp is fine, but it's still more about working together. Which is maybe derived from/foreshadowed by(?) the way Dave used his time loops to work with himself, like in the fight against Jack Noir. And it's echoed by the way Davesprite went to find Bro to back him up.

I fucking swear, if Davesprite dies because Dirk's death gets it into his head that he should just throw caution to the wind and throw down with the Condesce, I am going to facepalm so hard. This is probably what's going to happen.

But, god, yeah. Homestuck. Though I think the dream threads forced a lot of it into detail, because of the setups I used.