ruggie bucchi is one of the few characters in nrc who didnāt just grow up with less, but he grew up with nothing
and that changes everything about how he sees the world
he wasnāt raised with stability, or comfort, or even the guarantee of his next meal. his mother died early, his father disappeared, and from that point on it was just him and his grandma trying to get by in the slums of sunset savanna, no safety net, no excess, no room to be careless
so he learned early that if he wanted something, he had to take it, earn it, or bargain for it
and that mindset never left him
people like to call ruggie greedy or opportunistic like itās some quirky red flag, but itās not, itās a sign of how hard he needs to fight for survival
when you grow up not knowing if youāll eat, food stops being casual. it becomes something you hold onto. something you donāt waste, something you take when itās there because you donāt know when itāll be there again
thatās why he eats the way he does
thatās why he takes leftovers
thatās why he never lets an opportunity pass him by
because passing it by might mean losing something he actually needs
even his skillset reflects this
cooking, sewing, cleaning, bargaining, working multiple jobs. none of that is random. itās what happens when you donāt have the luxury to specialize
you survive however you can
and yeah, heās ambitious
because when you start with nothing, ambition isnāt optional
one of the most important things about ruggie is how he views relationships
to him, everything is transactional
not because heās heartless, but because thatās how the world has always worked for him
you give something, you get something
you help someone, thereās a benefit
you donāt do things ājust becauseā
so when someone offers him kindness without expecting anything back, it throws him off; he doesnāt trust it
because in his experience, thereās always a catch
and if you donāt see it, it just means you havenāt found it yet
thatās why heāll help people and then immediately attach a price to it. not even always because he wants to exploit them, but because thatās what makes sense to him
it makes the interaction predictable; safe; understandable
ruggie being surrounded by wealthy students at nrc is a constant reminder of the gap between him and everyone else
these are people who have never had to think about the things heās had to think about and do his entire life
and some of them donāt even realize it
so obviously, he doesnāt like spoiled rich kids
not just because theyāre annoying, but because they represent a world heās never been allowed to live in
a world where you can relax without worrying about survival
a world where kindness isnāt suspicious
and the frustrating part? he doesnāt even want to be like them
he says himself he wouldnāt trade his life for being some pampered brat
because his mindset is completely different
heās used to fighting for everything
and thereās a pride in that, even if it came from hardship
ruggieās relationship with leona is one of the most interesting dynamics in the game
on paper, they couldnāt be more differentā a prince and a boy from the slums
but in reality, theyāre both at the bottom of their own hierarchies
leona, the second prince who was never meant to be king
ruggie, a male hyena at the bottom of the social structure
they both started with something to prove
the difference is that ruggie never stopped trying
where leona gave up, ruggie kept going
he adapted, worked, pushed forward no matter what
in a lot of ways, ruggie is what leona could have been if he hadnāt lost the motivation to keep fighting
and despite how transactional ruggie acts, there are moments that show he does care
he brings food back home for others
he helps when he doesnāt strictly have to
he even uses his magic to make leona smile after everything, despite being injured himself
he just doesnāt frame it as kindness
because thatās not how heās learned to understand it
itās easy to look at ruggie and call him selfish
but that selfishness didnāt come from nowhere
it came from a life where if he didnāt look out for himself, no one else would
he had to be resourceful and cautious and had to think ahead
because thatās what kept him alive
ruggie isnāt greedy for the sake of it
heās someone who learned that the world doesnāt give freely
so he makes sure he never walks away empty-handed
and even then, thereās still a part of him that cares more than he lets on
he just doesnāt know how to exist in a world where that care doesnāt come with a cost
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
prguitarman
romaincrisis
janainaart
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
dailybridgerton
