Wanted to ask your opinion on why olruggio seems so...socially oriented (?) towards qifrey when they first met. Utowin monologue implies he was kept very isolated from other kids his age yet he seems to know the basics of social interaction such as how children his age are drawn to competition when he baits qifrey with the veggies. He seems very down to Earth in general (maybe speaking with a bit of confusion because I was never a gifted kid so dont know how they perceive social itneraction with peers).
Another thing I wanted to ask are his motives for befriending qifrey? Considering the above I have the theory that at least at the very beginning his friendship was based on projection ("I can still be a witch that saves people!") and pity (he decides to help him more after hearing him get teased in the great hall) and eventually blossomed into the real thing. Sorry was just rereading your fics and the thought came into my head.
I think you're spot on, that's my interpretation too. I think it's a combination of:
Qifrey reminds him of home, because of his hair. His first thought when he glimpses Qifrey is "Is that snow?" followed by him yelling, "STUPID, IDIOT, SNOW-FOR-BRAINS!"
So I think Olly is immediately sort of drawn to Qifrey for this reason. Also I think he must be very traumatised from basically being traded like currency. Like, from his pov, not only did he fail at Noz, but now because of that failure, he is being sent off to a place he's never been to, without his family or anyone he knows. This must be very destablising for any child, but especially a child who gets his entire self-worth from being useful. It's like a punishment for failing at Noz.
But yes, I think the real push to become his friend is when he realises that Qifrey has no friends, people gossip about him, and think he can't even be a witch bc he's disabled. Olly basically sees a wounded bird in need of rescue, and he gets his self-worth from being helpful. So he sees Qifrey as someone he needs to save.
Which in a way, is true. Qifrey desperately needed someone to recognise that he was in pain, someone who meets him at his level. Beldaruit loves him and cares for him, but he's an adult and Qifrey needs someone his own age. Like I think one of the most critical lines here is when Olly tells Qifrey that adults trust kids who smile. Beldaruit would never give advice like that.
So while I think Olly's motivations are somewhat selfish here, I don't think Qifrey sees them as selfish. Throughout their relationship, Qifrey keeps calling Olly kind, generous, thoughtful, a star. I don't even think he sees this as a character flaw. Olly's need to be a hero, the saviour, is to Qifrey, the most incredible part about him. In his mind it's a miracle that someone like Olruggio genuinely wants to save him and care for him. He feels like he doesn't deserve Olruggio.
However, Olruggio feels like he needs to save Qifrey, that he's just not good enough if he can't save Qifrey. That's the most interesting part about the Tower of Tomes scene—the fact that, in one way, Olly's self-sacrifice is kind of...well, selfish. Yes, he's saving Qifrey's life, but he's also condemning Qifrey to a life of guilt and anxiety and loneliness that in some regards, is a punishment. I've read some theories that Olly actually remembers what happened and he's searching for a Silverwood cure, which would flip this scene quite a bit and I really like that, plus I think it's possible. But to bring this back to the topic, yes, I think Olly's initial motivations in befriending Qifrey were selfish.
Tbh I didn't interpret Utowin's flashback with Olly as Olly being isolated from kids his age. I guess, maybe that makes sense actually, but that's not what first occurred to me. Olly is crafty. He's spent his formative years around adults, understanding how to impress them and get what he wants out of them. In a way, baiting Qifrey was using the same skill. With adults, he'd show off. With Qifrey, he is showing off. "You're a picky eater and I'm not! I win!" I think he correctly guesses that Qifrey would respond to this because their first interaction is a fight. Olruggio IS somewhat arrogant. He's bound to be, given that everyone treats him as such a gifted kid. I think competition is just where he thrives, so he was falling back on well-honed skills to bait Qifrey. I think, if Qifrey had just walked away saying, "Ok, I'm a picky eater and you're not. You win. Whatever," Olly would have had to change tactics.
But again, Qifrey is the right audience for this. He feels like an outsider. He has no friends. He sees everyone as a threat. Some weird kid calling him a picky eater immediately raises his hackles because he is just itching for a fight. He's naturally on the defensive so he's very easy to ragebait.
Also this is probably the first conversation he's had with a kid his age in quite a long time. Bc he doesn't even really talk to the other kids. He doesn't even know how to talk to kids his age. At this point the only person we've seen him had any interaction with, is Beldaruit. Beldaruit is his entire world, his home and his only ally and friend. Qifrey doesn't know anything beyond him. So he also reacts like a feral animal with Olruggio. He has no other template for normal interaction.
Having said that, Olruggio does genuinely connect with Qifrey bc they're both outsiders to the GH. Olly has dozens of kids flocking around him but none who really want to be his friend. In Utowin's flashback, we actually see kids/his peers rooting for his downfall. Even Utowin initially is like, "I want to be the one who picks him up and makes him feel better." All his peers seem to be motivated by selfishness too, is what I'm saying, so Olly really doesn't have any reason to trust them. But bc Qifrey doesnt give a shit who Olly is supposed to be, he doesn't have to be Olruggio of the Torch around him. He can just be Olly. It's pretty significant and just adorable, too, that in their first interaction, he's like, "My name is Olruggio. You can call me...Olruggio, I guess!" BABY he doesnt even have a nickname!!! Qifrey calling him Olly all the time really cements that this relationship makes Olruggio feel safe too, like a person rather than an asset.
Anyway, these are my very long rambling thoughts! thanks for reading my fics and for the ask! It was fun to think about :)
