#The Dynamic Duo

[fox-guardian]

[ID: Digital drawings of Daisuke and Swansea from the game Mouthwashing. The first image shows two drawings of Daisuke, one full-body with his running and waving, and a bust of him smiling. The second image is two drawings of Swansea, a full-body of him standing with the utility axe and a bust of him sneering. The backgrounds on both are reference images of each of them. end ID]

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finished with first passes of the gang! DAISUKE AND SWANTRAIN!!

p pleased with swansea's face especially, it's a whole new Shape i haven't done before i feel. lot of chin happening

(refs from this post!)

[hotel-japanifornia]

I wasn't going to add anything initially but this post brings up something that's been on my mind since...my entire time in the fandom since 2018.

I genuinely dislike depictions of Phoenix and Maya's friendship during the first game outside of the first game. The reason being is that their friendship develops quicker than it actually does in canon.

At the beginning of their partnership, they weren't instant bffs. They were brought together by Mia, and for a while that was the only thing really connecting the two of them. It's not until 1-4 that Phoenix even starts seeing Maya as her own person, and not just the Chief's little sister. For instance, when Phoenix mentions the two people he trusts most; he's referring to Larry and Edgeworth, not Maya.

The entire point is that the two go from complete strangers to ride-or-die from each other. Jumping from Point A to Point B when they barely even know each other completely waters down the complexity of their relationship.

okay before i forget. i've been trying to put my finger on why people saying phoenix and maya are 'sibling-coded' pisses me off so much and I think a big part of it is how important mia is to both their introduction and also the foundation of their relationship and how calling phoenix and maya 'siblings/sibling-coded' waters down all of their relationships

phoenix wishing that maya was mia is a very big part of maya's arc as well as a big sticking point in phoenix and maya's relationship. phoenix spends the majority of turnabout sisters wishing that 'the chief' was there and when maya fails to channel her he shows outward disappointment. this is something that maya obviously picks up on and internalizes as we see throughout the rest of the games. most notably maya shows remarkably little self-preservation, throwing herself at von Karma's taser and in contempt of court to help edgeworth (and by extent, phoenix). she openly admits to feeling useless when she can't channel mia and phoenix never refutes this out loud until he of course presents the bullet to her showing that she wasn't useless. phoenix is notably bad at expressing his thoughts/ and feelings so its honestly debatable whether this gets through to maya but thats neither here nor there

on the other side of it, maya wishes that phoenix would be the caring adult figure that she was missing for most of her life (and especially after mia dies) and phoenix does not do a great job of being that figure. he likes her sure, and they're good friends, but he's definitely not nurturing or sensitive whenever maya is in distress. at the end of turnabout sisters when mia tells maya to "take care of phoenix" for her, maya starts calling him nick (because that's what mia said phoenix's friend calls him) and their dynamic for the most part is solidified. maya is not able to find mia in phoenix and accepts him as his own person and a part of her life as a friend.

phoenix has a more complicated journey with viewing maya as her own person partially because of the whole spirit-channeling thing, and partially because maya is younger than both the chief and himself. phoenix is constantly looking to a mentor for guidance and feels out of his depth for most of the cases in the trilogy. he frequently wishes that mia could be there, and is shown to value maya's ideas less, or at the least question them more at face-value. nevertheless, by the second game phoenix relies on maya greatly as shown with how he copes (or fails to cope) with her absence in rfta and 2-4, and 3-5. phoenix views her as both an integral part of his life and support structure, but also views her as someone he has to put on a brave face for, much like pearls. maya is phoenix's young friend that he leans on and wishes to protect.

maya's love for her sister is a core theme that spans the entire trilogy and culminates in maya almost dying in 3-5. phoenix's love for mia is a constant driving force that pushes him past what he believed himself capable of, and encourages him to trust those who become those closest to him. phoenix and maya's relationship is colored by their own relationships to mia, and how they view each others relationship with mia. they both represent a part of her that they never knew as well as a part of her they can keep loving in her place after she is gone, but most importantly, neither of them will ever be mia. no one else can be maya's big sister and no one else can be phoenix's mentor. they meet each other as two strangers set adrift by the same lost mooring, and though they'll never be secure in the way they were before meeting each other, they have a friend to help keep themselves afloat.

[sunkillerlovechild]

batman, superman and robin are literally my favourite trio, they are so special to me

like any time i see someone being like "dick doest have a super" WRONG

he has his uncle clark that would fly him around when he was a kid just because he thought it was so cool and probably helped him with his homework and made sure bruce wasnt being too hard on him and ahhhh

honestly dick and clark and their dynamic just mean so much to me

but also all three of them together, they are like the original crime fighting trio

[hotel-japanifornia]

I often find myself thinking of that one person describing Phoenix and Maya's relationship as "Maya no" "Maya yes!" during investigations and "Phoenix no!" and "Phoenix yes!" during the court sections.

Never have I seen a more accurate description of their dynamic before or since, lmfao.

[tarucore]

ok but thinking about that one post, I think what modern Robin origin retellings get wrong is that Bruce was not a strict guardian, he wasn’t overly cold or distant from Dick, and I say this without judgement bc I love books like Robin: Year One and I’ll probably love the newest Batman and Robin series that’s coming out, but no modern comic really has a handle on how their partnership worked for the first 5-6 years

like the main problem between them in the early years is that they were best friends, partners!! He thought this kid was the best!!! Bruce was incredibly lenient with Dick if you think of their relationship as strictly father/son, and a huge part of their issues as Dick grew up was that Bruce suddenly started setting boundaries and treating Dick like a child just as he was becoming an adult, probably after he read a parenting book (joking) or realized that he was terrified of losing someone close to him again, whether that be by death or Dick moving away

I just don’t get why people are so insistent on ascribing the traits of modern Batman onto his early years, if Bruce had acted as emotionally distant and paranoid as he does now in certain comics then Dick would have never been as close to him as he is, and he would have left the position of Robin way earlier if Bruce hadn’t treated him like an equal

If you don’t want to lean into the campy, fun golden age Batman attitude that’s completely understandable but I’ve found hardly any modern adaptations that convince me Bruce likes the kid, much less loves him

[nefarious-616-necromancer]

[comic-art-showcase]

Batman,Robin and Leslie Thompkins by Chris Samnee

Batober prompt: Spooked

[thesulkycroissant]

"You never lied to me and you never demanded that I be anything I'm not," is such a fascinating and specific and actually significant accolade for Dick to give Bruce here. And also: "You gave me a lot of yourself." Idk they make me feel so many things

[jonjaydami]

I love superbat so much cause there is literally no better ship than the goth girl leaving her house once a month to kidnap the country boy who lives down the road

[loopyarts]

I love Dick Grayson Robin, he’s such an adorable little scamp and the incredibly layered and complex father/son dynamic duo that is Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson so so much.

[terranovathemust]

Let's face it, the second season with the two of them would have been cool. 😍

[farshootergotme]

Dick telling Damian about his complicated relationship with Bruce and all the roles he's filled in his life and how the title he has as his (adoptive) father is barely the tip of the iceberg.

Meanwhile, Damian comes to realize a few things about his own relationship with Dick.

[k4txlulzz]

batman 2004 has peak dick and bruce relationship characterization

bruce actually feels like bruce and is a decent guy + grayson's personality is on point + HIS WHOLE ORIGIN STORY AS ROBIN IS AWESOME

[momachan]

"The Dynamic Duo. -Just another pair of troubles... -You can say that again. -You ever think about lying down in the track? They say comprenssion is good for the soul... -Yer not funny. -I'm not kidding."

Batman: The Audio Adventures (2022). "Two Split Seconds On Division Street."

*This comic is a work of fiction. If you need help please call your local crisis lifeline. They will give you free and confidential support. Remember: Your life matters.

[hotel-japanifornia]

So, I was reminded of this moment earlier today.

These fucking dorks. I love them.

[incandescent-creativity]

POV you have to save the world with this weirdo at your side

I knew jumping on commissions from @theartingace was a good idea — just look at Ash and Zach! This seriously captures them so well: the height difference, the smiley vs serious, the fantasy elements with the horns and the ears… !!!

10/10 thank you so much 😭

(closeup and alternate version under the cut! Check it out!)

The above is how they appear for most of the series, but I’ve spent most of a book just writing them as plainly human so it’s still amazing to see that realized, too.