History Main / SatisfiedStreetRat

%% * Kazuma from ''Anime/{{Scryed}}''

* SatisfiedStreetRat: [[Characters/CodePrimeMegatron Megatron]] is almost as proud to have been a gladiator champion from Kaon as to be leader of the Decepticons currently, and he says as much to Charles and Suzaku on different occasions.

[[caption-width-right:350:♫ Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat, tell you all about it when I got the time! ♫]]

%% * Firo from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''.

%% * Black and White from ''Manga/{{Tekkonkinkreet}}'' are Satisfied Street Cats.
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%% * Black and White from ''Anime/{{Tekkonkinkreet}}'' are Satisfied Street Cats.

* ''LightNovel/AiNoKusabi'': AntiHero BadassBiker Riki is a subversion. He may be proud on the outside but was anything but satisfied from being [[WrongSideOfTheTracks raised in a slum and treated as a mongrel]].

* Firo from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''.

* Kazuma from ''Anime/{{Scryed}}''

* Black and White from ''Anime/{{Tekkonkinkreet}}'' are Satisfied Street Cats.

* In the classic 1917 silent adventure serial ''Film/{{Judex}}'', the Licorice Kid (age perhaps seven and played by Rene Poyen) is one of these.
--> Madame, I am not a beggar. I am a tradesman.

* Hari/Caine from ''Literature/TheActsOfCaine''

* ''Literature/{{Kim}}'' in the Creator/RudyardKipling book by that title.
* Briar Moss of the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' starts out like this, and opens up as time goes on. He stays tough as nails, however.

* Keiro (from ''Literature/{{Incarceron}}'') has shades of this.

[[folder:Music]]
* A popular persona in GangstaRap, occasionally popping up in GlamRap as well when the theme is a RagsToRiches rise to stardom.

[[folder:Sports]]
* It's very common for up-and-coming UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighters to point to their rough childhood as evidence of their toughness and commitment. More experienced fighters tend to shift their focus towards their professional accomplishments.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Iconic character Dai Blackthorn from ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' is based on this archetype.
* A very common PC background, especially for characters with stealth or other 'thief' abilities. Because living family is basically bait for a GM to kidnap them and force you to rescue them, but angst annoys the other players, an orphan or abandoned child that's not particularly broken up about it is a good way to avoid your character's backstory interfering with the campaign.

[[folder:Video Games]]
%%* [[FragileSpeedster The Scout]] from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''
%%* Jules from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''.
* Mission Vao from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is a carefree Twi'lek from the Undercity of the LayeredMetropolis that is Taris. She isn't 'hard' but she seems to have developed a lot of confidence through surviving in such a rough environment (having a Wookiee bodyguard helps too).
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Jack of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is the result of PlayingWithSyringes, but her personality is full bore Satisfied Street Rat. As Creator/BioWare is prone to do, the concept is [[{{Deconstruction}} Deconstructed]]; Jack ''loves'' being [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers so powerful she doesn't have to answer to or be afraid of anyone]], but after a [[TearJerker sad]] incident where someone [[HeroicSacrifice died saving her]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy out of love]], she subconsciously realized that most people don't '''need''' that kind of power. She's thus become '''''deeply''''' bitter about her childhood as a lab rat.
** The "Earthborn" origin for Shepard implies Shepard used to fit this archetype (or still does, if you play an unapologetic renegade path). In the first game, Shepard can even run into a friend from his/her old gang.
* Annah in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' wavers between this and TheArtfulDodger, as a street-smart guttersnipe, but her FieryRedhead personality and tendency to shove a dagger in the guts of anyone who annoys her pushes her more to this trope.
* Hikage from ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'', who went from being an orphan from as far as she can remember, to being a gang member, to being an elite shinobi in Hebijo Academy. Though she is more indifferent about her past [[EmotionlessGirl as she is about everything else]] and she doesn't bring up her past that much.
* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', this characterizes Ekko and to a lesser extent Talon. Ekko grew up in the rough parts of Zaun and thrives as the leader of a little band of street kids. Talon grew up in Noxus, a city-state that refuses to help the 'weak' because only the strong should survive. He made it to adulthood by killing anyone who got in his way.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Quain'tana of ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' grew up on the streets with no apparent parents and eventually rose to be one of the greatest war leaders in the worldsetting. Her first "pack" was composed of other street rats that eventually grew into a mercenary empire but unlike other examples, her lack of parental figures [[MaternallyChallenged really takes its toll on her children]].
* Doc Worth from ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'' partly fits: he has the less-than-legal job and is proud of it and his dingy place. It is unknown what his childhood or relationship with his family were like, but they were well-off enough to pay off his med school expenses.
%%* Adrestia from ''Webcomic/MorphE''.
* Gail Swanson, the VillainProtagonist of ''Webcomic/WhenSheWasBad'', who lived on the streets for a time between running away from an OrphanageOfFear and joining a gang. The skills she learned during that time make her a significantly better fighter than her heroic counterpart Amber, and she vigorously defends the gang leader who took her in against any moral criticism.
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
** Mimeo; his childhood consisted of being a numbers runner on the streets of New York City, right up until he was told to kill some people or be killed. He gained superpowers and managed to avoid the problem, by putting his father and two assassins in the hospital. He's a supervillain who will do pretty much anything except kill people, and he has selfish reasons for holding back on that account.
** [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Sahar]], who grew up as an orphan in Beirut in the 1990s, describes ''herself'' as having been a Satisfied Street Rat even after being recruited by the CIA, and [[DepravedBisexual behaved as such]] while at Whateley Academy right up until she fell in love with Zenith.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Megatron of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' wears his life as "a gladiator from the pits of Kaon" as a badge of ''pride'' despite the fact that he was a ''slave'' because of it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko (before his NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech) believes that his psychotic father somehow made him stronger, despite the fact that said father burned Zuko's face and banished him for speaking out of turn. Zuko says this in the first season: "I don't want luck, I don't need it. I've always had to fight and struggle. It's made me strong, it's made me who I am." It's made clear, though, that a lot of his pride at his past is him lying to himself, as he doesn't want to acknowledge that Ozai is evil.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', Ezra starts the show as TheArtfulDodger, having been orphaned after his parents were arrested by the Empire on his seventh birthday. When he meets the ''Ghost'' crew, he balks at their heroic, selfless, and family-like lifestyle until he realizes being GoodFeelsGood and that he wants that life too. As Season 1 goes on, he's conflicted when he learns his parents may be alive (later revealed to still be in prison), as he was driven to stay alive by believing that the only reason why they couldn't come back for him was because they died. It also becomes clear throughout the show that Ezra has abandonment issues and is afraid of ending up alone again.
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[[folder:Real Life]]
* Very common in most countries to be proud of having worked yourself out of a {{Gangsterland}} neighborhood or some other tough lifestyle.
* Many gladiators came to embrace the lifestyle and adoration of the crowd. If such a thing existed today (or if they allowed such to compete in the NFL), it would be similar to a prison football team wanting life in prison because of all the fans they get by actually being the prison's football team.
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Frequently {{Anti Hero}}es, and often {{Byronic Hero}}es who embodies on being JustAGangster. The degree to which the character is well-adjusted versus harboring a lot of pain inside depends on the writer. See also WrongSideOfTheTracks, NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters. As children, they are more likely to have been TheArtfulDodger rather than the StreetUrchin, but the Dodger is more of a trickster where the Street Rat is more of a cutthroat. May have been raised by TheFagin. Those who knew the Street Rat as a more vulnerable child may see them as a case of FromNobodyToNightmare in adulthood.

Frequently {{Anti Hero}}es, and often {{Byronic Hero}}es. The degree to which the character is well-adjusted versus harboring a lot of pain inside depends on the writer. See also WrongSideOfTheTracks, NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters. As children, they are more likely to have been TheArtfulDodger rather than the StreetUrchin, but the Dodger is more of a trickster where the Street Rat is more of a cutthroat. May have been raised by TheFagin. Those who knew the Street Rat as a more vulnerable child may see them as a case of FromNobodyToNightmare in adulthood.

Frequently {{Anti Hero}}es, and often {{Byronic Hero}}es. The degree to which the character is well-adjusted versus is harboring a lot of pain inside depends on the writer. See also WrongSideOfTheTracks, NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters. As children, they are more likely to have been TheArtfulDodger rather than the StreetUrchin, but the Dodger is more of a trickster where the Street Rat is more of a cutthroat. May have been raised by TheFagin. Those who knew the Street Rat as a more vulnerable child may see them as a case of FromNobodyToNightmare in adulthood.

** [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Sahar]], who grew up as an orphan in Beirut in the 1990s, describes ''herself'' as having been a Satisfied Street Rat even after being recruited by the CIA, and [[DepravedBisexual behaved as such]] while at Whateley Academy right up until she [[SchoolgirlLesbians fell in love with Zenith]].

** Revy is a nihilistic OneWomanArmy with a very troubled upbringing, but is outright spiteful of the idea of living any other life or having any other philosophy.

** Revy.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', Ezra starts the show as TheArtfulDodger, having been orphaned after his parents were arrested by the Empire on his seventh birthday. When he meets the ''Ghost'' crew, he balks at their heroic, selfless, and family-like lifestyle until he realizes being GoodFeelsGood and that he wants that life too. As Season 1 goes on, he's conflicted when he learns his parents may be alive (later revealed to still be in prison), as he was driven to stay alive by believing that the only reason why they couldn't come back for him was because they died.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1616906622009363900
%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/{{Gotham}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gotham_set_pics_catwoman_1_630x561.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:No juvie for this street rat (or should that be ''cat''?)]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko (before his WorldOfCardboardSpeech) believes that his psychotic father somehow made him stronger, despite the fact that said father burned Zuko's face and banished him for speaking out of turn. Zuko says this in the first season: "I don't want luck, I don't need it. I've always had to fight and struggle. It's made me strong, it's made me who I am." It's made clear, though, that a lot of his pride at his past is him lying to himself, as he doesn't want to acknowledge that Ozai is evil.