so, what happened to Ruggie's dad?
small disclaimer: these are my own personal thoughts and headcanons, though I draw information directly from canon for my interpretations
I think that the default interpretation of Ruggie talking about his missing father is that he willfully abandoned Ruggie and his grandma, left to get some milk and never returned and so on
there is another possible interpretation which I subscribe to: his father went out one day on a job/gig or to literally scrounge for money as Ruggie stated (possibly theft, as even Ruggie did this growing up) and was killed. his father is dead and that's why Ruggie never heard from him in all this time and why he suddenly disappeared without a single trace
death is extremely commonplace for Ruggie and his community. in his birthday boy SSR, he nonchalantly says birthdays and getting older aren't guaranteed, so he doesn't mind them, unlike some people who hate getting older. for a young guy like Ruggie to be this blasé about death, it suggests plenty of exposure to it as he grew up
I would imagine in such an environment that if Ruggie's dad was killed while either working a gig with dangerous conditions (often the case for people under the poverty line) or if he was just mugged after finding some money, he would simply be left there and dealt with quietly. either that happened, and Ruggie's grandma was not notified or she was notified but since poor young Ruggie already lost his mother, she did not want to tell him and burden him further. a 'missing' father sounds more hopeful than a dead father
now, the non-meta answer to Ruggie's lack of father is that this is consistent with real spotted hyena dynamics and it's a direct reference. male spotted hyenas tend to not provide paternal care to cubs*. his mother joining the stars shortly after his birth is also in line with real hyenas: spotted hyena birth is extremely difficult and many first time mothers die of complications due to their convoluted, pseudo-pahllus having anatomy. also, spotted hyenas are not monogamous
however, I still see the interpretation that Ruggie's father is dead to be plausible while remaining in line with the real animal reference the devs wanted to make. while there's plenty of videos of large gatherings of hyenas hunting and eating together seemingly at the same time, usually* male hyenas are on the lowest end of the hierarchy and are the last to eat/the ones who eat the least, so they hunt by themselves (or in pairs) to supplement their diet. and when they are trying to find food (money) alone is when they are likely to come across other predators (fellow desperate people) and with no protection from their clan*, they are often killed. sounds familiar
if Ruggie's dad was still alive and just dumped his family, with how tight knit the community of Ruggie's birthplace is suggested to be, it is likely that he would have heard at least some things and gossip about his dad. but the fact that he heard nothing at all, really makes me believe that his dad is simply dead, which is sad in its own way
hyena babies are called cubs, not pups
male spotted hyenas being absolutely outranked by even the lowest female hyena is outdated information. more recent research shows that a male spotted hyena can be at a higher rank and potentially even become the head of a clan if 1. his mother is of said high rank and 2. he stays with his natal clan. the reason why males are usually the lowest in the hierarchy is because they often leave their clans to search for mates in other clans, and by being an immigrant male they start from 0
a group of hyenas is called a clan
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