a cutie cutie review of the ways datz connects with certain characters!yippee
Apollo! the relation is... "a man who knew apollo as a baby." nebulous uncle figure. sometimes compared as "apollo's larry butz" due to being an unserious troublemaker from apollo's childhood...except datz was a grown ass man. calls him "aj" for short :3
canon; apollo thinks datz is kind of an exhausting goofball. "how did datz leave behind this massive suitcase?" "because... he's datz," apollo offers wearily, talking about a man he hasn't seen in like two decades. the first thing datz does when he sees aj is laugh at him for his hairstyle being identical to when he was a kid. the first thing apollo does is lament that datz hasn't changed a bit. datz likes this kid!! he tried to find apollo's mother after the fire.. he's got unwavering faith in apollo's skills as a lawyer. and apollo is like... "oh yeah i remember him running around when i was a kid." lmao
my beliefs; datz loves this damn kid!!!! like his own nephew. apollo didn't have a bio mom or dad, and sure, dhurke adopted him, but i like to think datz and apollo were a little close... dhurke and nahyuta were biologically related, so, maybe datz imprinted a little bit. two kids is too much for one guy to take care of. dhurke holds yuty while datz holds aj... stuff like that. smiles. i like to imagine datz fought to keep apollo in khura'in, and was crushed when he lost that fight... apollo appreciates the familiar face, i think.
Nahyuta! the relation is... "a man who knew nahyuta as a baby." a nebulous uncle figure. no one talks about this bc no one loves me. calls him "yuty" for short :3
canon; nahyuta doesn't talk much about datz... the only time they really interact is in court, while datz is amnesia'd. and he tries to get datz arrested as soon as he recalls his memory but like, no harm no foul, yuty does that for everyone. datz seems hurt that nahyuta lost the will o' the dragon, and talks about how cool and awesome and smart and cool nahyuta is to phoenix and apollo... he was so excited for yuty to become a prosecutor... a rising star of the revolution...
my beliefs; datz loves this damn kid!!!! like his own nephew. datz is the person who knows yuty best now that dhurke is gone... at least, younger yuty, before everything got so out of hand. i think yuty has such sad and complex feelings about this uncle, like he's undeserving of that familial feeling after betraying them for so long, and datz just wants yuty to be happy and safe again. he wants him to eat well. i think datz annoys the shit out of him on purpose, and yuty appreciates the crooked normalcy that datz brings- like, he's a freak, but it's a freakiness that yuty's known for years.
Amara! the relation is... "i don't think amara says a word about datz"
canon; iliterally do not think amara says a word about datz. i can check again but i'm pretty sure she does not care. this is dhurke's wife btw this is dhurke's legally wed wife who he loves and has two children with. so like, datz knows her. i don't even remember if he talks about her besides "she exists and is alive and dhurke did not kill her." AND, also, that datz has the entire file on amara's 'assassination' memorized. he's locked tf in
my beliefs; SO COMPLICATED. happy she’s alive. offended she ever questioned dhurke’s innocence. her loyalty lies with protecting her kids above all else and datz’s lies with standing by dhurke above all else so..?!?! but hes not mean not cruel not a victim blamer. he knows its out of her hands. he raised her kid and lived with her husband in her stead… happy because they used to be friends before everything. she appreciates him treating her like a person and not a public figure and idol.. she recognizes his avoidance. i think. but knows she has nothing to apologize for. the tension will always be there… she knows damn well he loved dhurke as much as dhurke loved her. she’s doing him a kindness by not pointing this out. they reminisce over memories anyway. datz makes sure she gets to see all the baby yuty pictures :-)
Dhurke! the relation is... "dhurke's right hand arm. man. he's dhurke's everything. his confidante. his best friend. his silly rabbit. is that what dhurke calls him? no." but he IS his "sole right hand man" (art book says this) and they are AIBOU (相棒) AND
canon; datz is the biggest dhurke fanboy who has ever been put to paper. datz’s entire existence is to serve as a bridge between dhurke and the rest of the cast. he relays dhurkes thoughts on things “its like dhurke said” “its dhurke’s dream” “hey dhurke, aj’s become a lawyer!” “he was never a hands on kinda dad…” “dhurke’s beside himself.” pick out any random datz dialogue and 50/50 its about dhurke. like its insane. dhurke just calls datz weird i think 😭 dhurke's dialogue with datz is pretty lowkey compared to other characters. they make jokes about going to jail and dying. they're kind of crazy. dhurke trusts him with certain orders... go track down this deeply significant cultural artifact. sneak into the royal palace and search for clues. dhurke makes fun of him for being a knuckleheaded buffoon but he must trust him!
my beliefs; dont even joke lad. datz is the reason dhurke made it this far. datz is the reason the defiant dragons got off the ground. likeim insane. Im not even speaking romantically. I cant even.LIKE WHAT DO I SAY? THEY RAISED KIDS TOGETHER. They had to. canon keeps saying “the three of us” and onlt referring to dhurke aj and yuty as The Family but idont care. datz surely visited a lot (at least One time, because he was on a fishing trip and took the photo of them all) and enough to know dhurke’s parenting style. dhurke cant solo parent in the mountains. not entirely. he needed extra hands. datz was there. helping. IDONT CARE. And then. Afterwards. datz was still there. through everything. for 23 yrs. JEHDKFNDJUST CHECK MY DHURKEDATZ PAGE. I CANT GET INTO IT RN.
Phoenix! the relation is... "a man datz knows and beats up and threatens and almost gets killed and then conscripts him into the revolution”. phoenix says “i guess we’re friends now” but i dont believe him
canon; datz almost got him killed. like not in the haha threatening way but i mean datz literally got him the death penalty by lying in court. somehow phoenix forgives him. datz makes him wear a moldy coat and laughs in his face and phoenix tries to blame a murder on him Like Twice and WRIGHT YOU BACKSTABBER I DIDN'T KILL NOBODY!!
my beliefs; i think datz would be genuinely pissed off if he found out phoenix knew who apollo's mother was. i think they're like, just normal adult people, like they know each other
Edgeworth! the relation is... "I discussed it at length with Mr. Are'bal here, and he..."
canon; they talk about a children's show together. offscreen but it happens. and i would pay any amount of money to READ THAT CONVERSATION. Also edgeworth lowkey is a defiant dragons sympathiser cus why are you chartering private jets to get a terrorist across the border. Okay
my beliefs; i think edgeworth by aa6 is hardened enough by experiencing larry butz and re-meeting eddie fender that by the time he meets datz hes like. Unruffled. Like its fine. i think datz thinks hes fucking hilarious. he cant faze edgeworth nearly as easily as he can phoenix.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DISCUSSED IT AT LENGTH? YOU? EDGEWORTH? MILES EDGEWORTH THE MOST STICK-UP-THE-ASS MAN EVER, SITTING IN A SEWER SHACK COVERED IN SPIDERS AND LIZARDS, WATCHING SHITTY KNOCKOFFS OF YOUR FAVORITE CHILDRENS SHOW? AND YOU DISCUSS IT? AT LENGTH? MILES EDGEWORTH? MILES EDGEWOOOOOOORTH
