Rotgut sketchdump/character study let’s GOOOOOO
Forgive the poorly translated Russian askdhaskjldajslkd I know exactly one language and that ain’t it

(CW: non-physical abuse/neglect/shitty parenting)

For the first eight years of her life, Suki lived in Yakyakistan with her father, Arko. Things were good! She had plenty of room to roam, plenty of cousins and aunts and uncles to keep her entertained, and all the sweets a kid could eat. When she was eight, however, her mother walked into Suki's life and took her to Equestria. Suddenly things weren't so great. Her mother would keep her inside most of the time, only letting her go out when most ponies were at work, and always seemed to be embarrassed when anyone saw her with Suki. It didn’t take long for the kid to come to the conclusion that her mother didn’t like her. And, well… she wasn’t wrong.

Bronze Buckshot only came back for Suki because she wanted to ease her own guilt about leaving her child. She had never wanted a kid, so it stands to reason that she wouldn’t be a good parent. Especially for a child like Suki. Being raised by yaks meant that Suki, although naturally a bit shy, was much louder, brasher, and blunter than most ponies. She said whatever she wanted to say, smashed things when she was angry, and spoke in the third person. Every yak-like aspect of her absolutely mortified her mother, so she saw fit to break her out of those habits. If she said something out of line, she would be locked in her room for the day. If she smashed something, she wouldn’t get dinner. If she spoke in the third person, she would be ignored until she properly apologized to her mother. Everything Suki had learned in her eight years of life was suddenly wrong, and she couldn’t understand why. She was hurt and confused, but Bronze never offered any explanation. She didn’t have the time or patience to deal with their problems.

So, Suki learned to sit still, stay quiet, and do whatever adults told her to do. Like her mother always said, nopony would want to be around her if she acted like a loud, ugly yak. She had to be polite. She had to be respectful. She had to be pony-like. That was the only way to make friends.

And then along came Strudel; an obnoxious, outspoken, brutish halfogriff who everyone seemed to… love. Wait. Why did they like her? You weren’t supposed to like creatures who acted like she did. And yet, every time Strudel entered the classroom, everyone seemed to get a little more chipper. Was it possible that her mother was wrong? And if she’d been wrong about how to make friends, what else had she been wrong about?

Strudel’s appearance in Suki’s life made everything she knew start to crumble. Again.

Over time, they became friends, and Suki got a taste of what life was like for folks whose parents actually gave a shit about them. Lamington treated her like an equal even though she was a ‘brid, and didn’t care when she yelled, or accidentally smashed something because she’d gotten too excited. They always welcomed her emotions instead of trying to shove them back down. That was… odd. And it explained a lot about Strudel. Suki started spending more time at Lam’s bakery with them and Strudel, and less time with her mother. Bronze never mentioned it. Before she knew it, Suki was following Strudel everywhere, and the hatred she’d built up against herself was starting to fade, a little at a time, and giving rise to a new kind of hatred. For her mother, and for Equestria itself.

When Strudel came to her in tears, shaking, saying that Lam’s sister had been killed by a member of the royal guard, that same hatred welled up and broke something inside her. Any sympathy she’d had for the citizens of Equestria was gone. She wanted justice. No, not justice—vengeance. And she promised Strudel that no matter how long it took, and no matter how hard it got, they would get it. Together.

After she and Strudel officially left home and set out on their own, they spent a few weeks in an abandoned park, planning out their attacks and fantasizing about all the ways they would make Equestria pay. It was Strudel who suggested that they take on new names. It was symbolic, she’d said, a way to mark their new start. Suki had thought it was silly at first, but the more she thought about it, the better it sounded. How nice would it be to leave everything behind and start as someone entirely different, someone who didn’t have to learn her own worth and didn’t have anyone controlling her every move. How nice would it be to forget it all?

So there, in that old, decrepit park, she buried Suki, and Rotgut was born.

1
“Mama? Mama, did I do something wrong?”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Mama.”
As stated previously, Rotgut does not have a good relationship with her mother, and she never did. Her mom didn’t want her, but felt obligated to take care of her, so Suki spent her post-Yakyakistan childhood just trying to earn her mother’s trust and love. She never felt like she truly succeeded in that pursuit—Bronze would scold her anytime she got excited or upset, would stop talking to her when she was in a bad mood without offering any explanation, and wouldn’t let yak traditions anywhere near her home. Suki wasn’t even allowed to wear her hair over her eyes in public (though she did so any time her mother wasn’t looking). It took a long time to begin undoing all the damage that Bronze did to her self-esteem.

2 & 3
Rottie may not be the most book-smart lady on the block, but she’s wise as they come, and that shit starts early. It didn’t take her long to figure out where she stood in Equestria.

4
“I am so sorry, Suki. I wanted to keep you here, to keep you with me for the rest of my life, but… the yaks were not kind to you. I thought the ponies would be better. I cannot believe how wrong I was. I cannot believe how they have hurt you, мой маленький трицератопс.”
Rotgut does eventually reunite with her father, albeit briefly. She broaches the subject of her mother, and why Bronze wanted to move her to Equestria, and Arko ends up telling her that she really wasn’t much better off in Yakyakistan. He protected her from the judgement of his peers as best he could, but he knew she couldn’t thrive there. As much as he loved her, he gave her up in hopes that she would have a happy life in Equestria. Those hopes did not pan out.

5
“идиот”
“Aw, я тоже тебя люблю, Rottie.”
At the end of the day, Rotgut is a protector over all else. No matter how many of Scrapjack’s injuries are her own fault, Rot will always help get her cleaned up and back on her feet. With a little scolding along the way, of course.

6
And here we have Ms. Rotgut in her rare berserk mode. If you see her like this, it is already too late. Pray to the nearest god.

7
Rottie has a complicated relationship with her magic. It’s useful, but more often than not it’s a huge pain in her ass. Being a hybrid means the way her body channels magic is… pretty much fucked. She’s got three horns all overflowing with magical energy that she can’t harness because nobody knows enough about yakicorns to really teach her how. When she does manage to break through that barrier and perform more than a simple telekinesis spell, it’s almost always an accident. Anytime she gets too angry, or happy, or scared, her magic flares up in a strange and unpleasant way (rapid teleportation, setting fire to things, levitation, flashes of electricity, transmuting random objects, and a whole slew of other inconveniences). Sometimes it also causes migraines and full-on blacking out. She likes having the option to use magic when it can help keep Scrapjack safe, but it has made life hard. Her problems with controlling it are also probably a big part of why her mother always seemed afraid of her. To this day, she isn't sure if suppressing her emotions broke her magic, or if having broken magic made her further suppress her emotions. Maybe both.

8
That guy’s about to have the worst (and last) day of his life. Shouldn’ta messed with Scraps, bud!

9
Another side effect of Rottie’s magical congestion is intense, magic-induced hallucinations, most often in the form of lucid dreams. Scrapjack has learned to recognize when her partner is having, or has just woken up from, one of these dreams, and her presence is the only thing that can really calm Rotgut in those vulnerable moments. She does sometimes get auditory hallucinations while awake, though—hearing someone following her and Jack or guards yelling their names when no one else does. More than once, she’s awoken in the middle of the night, certain that their hideout is surrounded. Even if Scrapjack doesn’t hear anything, she’ll check the perimeter every time so her wife can rest easy.