cool it, Dodger fans

Description

For all the street smarts Dodger has, many assume that he’s always lived life on the streets, but that’s far from true. Dodger unfortunately grew up in an abusive household until high school, spending many nights at his best friend’s house to escape the toxicity of his alcoholic father. His parents were strict like Scamp’s were in some ways, but Dodger could tell that Scamp’s parents did mean well in comparison to his own. Dodger and Scamp were always together, running around the streets and causing chaos for a laugh to escape their troubles. Throughout their friendship, Dodger also got close to Scamp’s twin, close enough to where their feelings became more than just friendly. Dodger knew that his best friend’s sister was completely off-limits, but she was always nearby and tempting him when Scamp wasn’t around. Ellie had been the one to initiate a fling between them, and Dodger did fall hard for her. Soon, they were secretly together behind Scamp’s back. While Ellie was a good distraction from the chaos he had to face at home constantly, the guilt of lying to his best friend made it hard to continue it for long. Dodger was the one to break things off with Ellie, and somehow the timing worked pretty well. Just a few days later, things at home escalated with his dad’s drinking and violence, and Dodger finally had enough. He knew Scamp had been struggling with the pressure from his own parents at home, so he offered for Scamp to run away with him before he took off. When Scamp declined though, Dodger didn’t take it personally. He just took his backpack and went off solo, eventually landing in Buster’s gang.

Though Dodger did learn a lot from Buster about living on the streets and taking care of himself, he knew Buster was selfish and scummy and Dodger wouldn’t tolerate it for long. He was able to convince some of the others to leave with him eventually, but some were reluctant. Dodge made it clear that as long as Buster stayed away, the door was always open for the others if they needed an out. Once he separated himself from Buster, he and the others who left with him met Fagin. He lived in an old, run-down apartment and hadn’t graduated high school like Dodger, and although he was just as much of a criminal as Buster, he was a good man deep down and cared about others around him. Buster had only cared about himself, and it was a breath of fresh air for Dodger to not be around someone so selfish. Fagin was struggling with some debts that he owed to a man named Sykes, and because of his kindness in letting them stay at his apartment, they all agreed to help him get his debts taken care of. They’ve been staying at Fagin’s ever since, and different friends have come and gone since then — Angel and Scamp included. Dodger even had a brief fling with Angel that was mostly casual; besides Ellie, Dodger’s never had a relationship that he’d consider serious. Between watching his parents always fighting growing up and seeing how things turned out between him and El, Dodger learned that when a relationship becomes too serious, things begin to get too complicated. Now that he’s found his place with Fagin and the others and life’s doing okay, Dodger feels like he’s living on easy street — no rules, no pressure, no worries. Sure, they’re still in the same old apartment and don’t have much, but he’d take this life over his past any day.

Headcanons

His family is originally from New York. They moved to the area when he was in elementary school, which was when he met Scamp.

Dodger’s family was super pressuring when it came to him choosing a career. Instead of buckling under their pressure, Dodger became a high school dropout who just picks up odd jobs or sometimes steals to take care of the necessities. He spent so much of his childhood listening to his parents bicker and fight over bills and dead-end jobs that they hated — why would he ever want to do the same?

If Scamp had agreed to leave with him in high school, there was a very good chance that Dodger would’ve revealed his and Ellie’s relationship history. Instead, the two friends got a long break from each other, which helped Dodge with some of the guilt he had about everything. That doesn’t mean he completely forgot about it though; it did resurface when Scamp came back into his life, and it only increased once he saw El again too. He and Ellie haven’t had a chance to talk much besides surface-level conversations with Scamp around, but he’s pretty sure that she’s moved on anyway. He doesn’t want to bring up old feelings and resurface things all over again, so things have continued to be left unsaid between them.

Dodger hasn’t had any contact with his parents since that night he left in high school. He refuses to even go by his full name now, preferring his nickname as a way of separating himself from his family for good. 

As an only child, he wasn’t able to fully relate to Scamp and Angel in the ways that they cared so much for their siblings. Instead, Dodger shows that kind of sibling love with his close friends, having strong loyalty to them and protective moments when necessary. His most recent example of this is with Oliver, whom he may not have known long but grew a soft spot for the kid quickly. He knows Scamp isn’t a fan, but he’s got no say on who comes and goes in his and Fagin’s place.

After being the one to convince most of them to break away from Buster, Dodger and Fagin sort of became the leaders in their newfound crew. Between Fagin’s bravery and kindness and Dodge’s confidence and wit, they make a pretty good team

He’s slick and charming, having a way with words that’s the complete opposite of Scamp. He uses his charm for flirting and to get out of sticky situations, which comes in handy often

Considering his rough past with his family, it's a surprise how calm and chill he typically is, though it’s likely because he doesn’t want to be anything like his parents

Dodger’s pretty musically talented but he stays humble about it surprisingly — however, he’s also been known to show off his voice in an attempt to flirt or to make a couple of bucks on the street

Almost always has his sunglasses with him