"Leoruggie is abuser x victim"
This argument stems from Leona strangling ruggie in book 2 and I will be talking about why I don't think that incident made leoruggie an abuser x victim ship and it was something that was expected to happen as a consequence for their actions
As much as I don't think the writing in book 2 was most phenomenal thing ever cause it was so rushed and the 3rd book didn't address nor reference the whole thing it only mentioned ruggie risking his life while doing the stampede plan but it was better to reference the incident even tho I am glad they mentioned something for consistency sake however the incident was such a dramatic scene and it was something that was going to do big damage to their relationship but they didn't reference it at all even tho one reference for it could have been really enough I don't need to be constantly reminded of it just something to haunt the narrative abit
The whole dynamic between leoruggie is the relationship between two morally ambiguous characters one an aggressor and the other an enabler and they are codependent cause both of them get something out of this relationship but most importantly no one can understand one better than the other due to one single common trait which is being outcasted for something they never had the ability to control and both of them are motivated by the same "life is unfair" quote but they perceive it from different views
Now I think some are forgetting that Ruggie isn't a good person, Ruggie chose to follow Leona's plan and he created a stampede that could've killed many innocent civilians, if you're going to hate on Leona for his actions you shouldn't baby ruggie cause without ruggie he couldn't have done it at all, you can't hate the aggressor while coddling the enabler cause you're taking away his agency and frame him as a helpless victim who did nothing wrong (he is 17 he is old enough to comprehend that leading a huge stampede is very a dangerous plan that can kill people in the process he even knew it could kill him too)
Now here is the main point aggressor x enabler relationships aren't meant to be healthy at all and if it was depicted in a healthy way it will be boring and make zero sense leoruggie isn't a healthy ship by any means but it's still not victim x abuser
While I never deny that ruggie was the victim of this incident he was the one who got humiliated and almost killed in a brutal way but it doesn't make him the victim of this relationship it was the outcome of their relationship being aggressor x enabler it stems from that more than just abuser x victim, Ruggie had a responsibility not to support Leona's plan, he could've said "No I won't go with this plan cause I don't want to risk the Lives of innocent civilians" but he ignored it and played along cause he'd benefit from it, does that mean Ruggie is the demon incarnate and it's all his fault and Leona did nothing wrong? Absolutely not. Leona is nearly as ambiguous as Ruggie and that's what makes them have a strong bond they understand each other and relate to each other on many aspects including them not being good guys which is crazy cause the game's premise Is getting into a school full of villains. Not heroes.
What happened to ruggie was bad. He was a victim in this scene. And leona had no right to treat him like that at all. Leona was at wrong for trying to kill ruggie when he was the only person who stuck with him. Just like how ruggie was in wrong for going along with leona's plan. It never defined their relationship. It was a consequence of them being bad people who do bad things while enabling each other. The small issue here the writing should've handled it more seriously and it's a twst writing flaw cause you see most of books lack consistency and doesn't give the overblot character actual consequences so it's an issue that stems from the writing pattern and doesn't have to do with the book the only thing that makes it more flawed than the other books is the rushed timing not the lack of consequences.
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