I Just Appeared To Share This Wriothesley Sketch Because I 've Being Saving For Months For Him And He

no no see, domesticity IS hot. how intimate it is to make food with someone, to share a bed, to brush your teeth at the same sink, to shower and use the same towels and the same laundry soap, to grocery shop and hold hands through the aisles, to be cornered in the kitchen to make out while a pot of pasta boils over on the stove. to fall asleep and hear them snoring softly and laugh at the little trail of drool out of the corner of their mouth. to spend money together and share chores and pick on each other for your weird habits. it's not always perfect and beautiful, but it's comfortable and familiar and I just think it's neat.

Wriothesley's lore and his relationship to Neuvillette and justice is so interesting to me because let's be real: the justice system failed him. He was brought up in a foster home where he was intended to be sold in the black market. And when he ran away, why was his solution to return and kill them? Why not inform the police? One can argue he was afraid but usually you'd try every other option before resorting to murder, yes?

And when he succeeds in killing them. He's sentenced to prison, where he is forced to spend the rest of his teen years (so, a child), and the start of his adulthood. And when his sentence is over, he doesn't even leave but take over the title of warden. He literally takes over the title of warden the day his sentence is over. That is severely fucked, like so severely fucked.

So it makes me wonder where was Neuvillette and Furina in all of this? Furina left the room in the middle of Wriothesley's trial for unspecified reasons (Wriothesley interpreted it as she found his case uninteresting, though headcanons say otherwise) and despite everyone in the room finding Wriothesley innocent, Neuvillette still finds him guilty. And you can't argue that it's cause Wriothesley wanted to be found guilty, like objectively let's look at this: he was a victim of abuse killing his abusers in self-defense. Is Neuvillette that obtuse?

I wanna know what Wriothesley thought of Neuvillette in that moment. I really feel like it needs to be addressed that Neuvillette failed Wriothesley and others like him. He is the second highest authority in Fontaine, yet the only thing he could do for Wriothesley when he was homeless as a child was allow a melusine to offer him soup? That's it? Did knowing that there's starving, homeless kids on the street spark no other interest? No implications of Fontaine's society and their quality of life?

I refuse to believe that Neuvillette let the melusine give him soup because it was Wriothesley, because that would mean he was aware of his background and did nothing. He did nothing until it was too late and Wriothesley had to take matters into his own hands. I personally see it as, he lets melusines offer help to those in need, which isn't better, but is better than him actively knowing that Wriothesley was homeless, starving, and running away from an abusive home and did nothing but allowed him one meal one night. Nevermind any other nights Wriothesley could've been starving. Nevermind what he had to endure on the streets as a child, scouring for money and safety. He couldn't offer him anywhere to stay or a job or something that can better Wriothesley's quality of life in the longterm -- he is the Iudex. He has the power to do so.

I still think that Neuvillette cares. But I also think he's extremely ignorant. And I don't fault Wriothesley for believing that Neuvillette wasn't concerned about him -- I think he has every right to think so cause Neuvillette failed him when he needed him most and has not shown him a reason to think otherwise. Every instance of Neuvillette's care is never directly shown to Wriothesley but to everyone else around him.

Anyways, I just find it really sad to think about, and I think Wriothesley deserved better for his own story and I wish the narrative didn't gloss over it like "oh but Neuvillette does care" because does he? Emotionally, maybe, but did Neuvillette make any real positive difference to Wriothesley's life?

…So that's why I think the headcanon that Neuvillette personally made the soup that the melusine gave to Wriothesley isn't as sweet as you think it is.

Why oh why I am hyperfixating on a book series with a target audience of middle-aged women and absolutely no fandom for??

More favourite tropes:

“Unfortunately, [thing that would ordinarily be described in much stronger terms than ‘unfortunate’].”  

“Fortunately, [thing that is in no way fortunate].”  

“Unfortunately, [thing that would be fortunate in nearly any circumstance except the particular circumstance at hand].“  

“Fortunately, [very minor benefit that absolutely does not offset the considerable drawbacks of whatever just happened].“  

“Unfortunately, [the exact, word-for-word thing that somebody just expressed that they hope won’t happen].“  

“Fortunately, [complete non sequitur].”

yes I was lazy with the colors sue me

You meet your soulmate at 15.

He’s a rough boy with bruised, bloody knuckles and a deep scratch under his eye. But he has gentle, downturned eyes that remind you of the blue of winters first frost.

He runs into you on your way home from school, crashing into you along the cobblestone path that leads you to your house, and when you get knocked backwards you feel yourself on the verge of tears from shock, but when his shaky hand comes out to help you up with a wobbly apology, you glance up at him and a sudden telltale warmth spreads from where your hands touch down to your toes. You feel your soul mark scratch at your skin and you gasp, but he only winces at the lightning prick of pain that tells him who you are to him.

He helps you up and your face warms. He looks panicked, like a cornered dog. You then spot the smattering of blood across his white school shirt. His shoes are caked with it, with dirt and scuffed from running through the mud. Your face falls and just before you can ask him if he’s okay, he tells you his name, and then pushes past you in a sprint. The scent of blood flies past your senses and you stare at his back as he gets smaller and smaller in the distance.

You don’t see him again for 15 years after that night.

Until one day you hear about the new Warden at the Fortress of Meropide, and without truly thinking - your finger curiously traces the somewhat familiar scar underneath the man’s eye on the photograph on the front page.

Your soul mark then hisses under your skin, the heat crawling up your arm and onto your tongue. Your brow pinches in confusion.

His name is unfamiliar, Wriothesley.

You only know the name of the boy who ran into you that night.

just a cute little fact but august 1st is also designated as the universal birthday for shelter dogs whose actual birthdays are unknown

Kageyama, whose clueless about social cues and relationships: hey so like. what's a normal way to behave with ur friend/teammate/rival?

Hinata, utterly in love with him & also impulsive: no idea. wanna move in together?

Kageyama:

Kageyama: sure.

sooo sort of a masterpost of info about Wriothesley.

about his character:

hes basically incorruptible, is said to be "low profile and dependable"

‌mostly just cares about the peace and tranquility of the inmates (he's a protector at heart!!)

treats everyone equally and generally prefers to be "reasonable" rather than use more forceful methods

‌doesn't really like cruelty and violence but if the need comes, he will use it

‌he thinks of himself as "neither a good person or a villain, just another soul still living on in this world"

‌hes basically just interested in every bit of knowledge any person shares and in their unique talents

he says that he himself doesn't have many abilities, but he "knows how to find people who do and get them to work for him"

his past:

‌wanted to be convicted and spilled everything about how he killed his adopted parents (cough cough child traffickers), even though some wanted to treat him with leniency

‌learned to lockpick and create small gadgets as a child

gained Coupons in the arena of the Fortress (while injuring himself considerably)

‌when he got his vision after going to prison he just. hid it between the fabric of his clothes so that no one would know and/or steal it. and then he kinda just hid it some more, for years, until he went to the Palais to receive his title.

‌how he actually became the Administrator:

accumulated a fuckton of Coupons

got everyone's respect by being so rich, "observant, persuasive, humble and reasonable"

got his account emptied in retribution by the former administrator

‌convinced other ppl to protest and challenged the previous administrator to a duel

the former administrator run away from the fight, leaving Wriothesley on the last day of his sentence without anyone to sign his exit papers

‌"so he walked into the office and took over all relevant duties"

about his role as a Fortress Administrator:

‌has a private information network and many connections

‌rejected having a ceremony for his title of the Duke. no spotlight for good old duke.

‌basically his management style just helps the Fortress make money (with one of its main clients being the Palais); he even jokes that his title was basically bought because he's a leading tax contributor

‌after dealing with the Fatui spies he went for a swim. near primordial water. and he didn't say shit after realizing that the prophecy may be coming to pass, he just started preparing his funky ship.

relationships with others:

‌Clorinde actually admits that no one really knows all of the methods he uses to keep the Fortress up and running; it is stated that "very few people know him in his entirety"

he seems to think of Neuvillette as some sort of a. higher power that cannot show concern (BUT HE DOES OH HE DOES)

‌he indeed held out the umbrella for Neuvillette in the rain. the Iudex was polite, but distressed.

‌gifts a lot of tea to Furina.

‌got Neuvillettes trust (i think what he implies is that he got it by his actions, not words?) and the Iudex "fought hard for the title and reputation he now has"

‌when he went to prison Neuvillette told Sigewinne to take care of him and they frequently exchanged letters about his progress (and Wriothesley called her Neuvillettes spy…)

info that i find especially funky:

he's a big softie when it comes to animals and kids

‌may or may not go outside the Fortress incognito to buy snacks sometimes. he's actually too incognito to know really

‌doesnt treat boxing like a hobby, "more like a necessity"

‌melusines put stickers on him and he rarely notices them do so. they are just too good. and besides, it doesn't bother him. they also have bets on who will pit more stickers on him.

‌he would like to have a happy childhood and maybe the ability to trust people (i am BAWLING)

‌might be "a bit taller than Neuvillette"

drinks coffee with milk and tea with two cubes of sugar

‌he thinks Sigewinnes milkshakes taste of desolation

Sigewinne spiked his tea with anaesthetics when he was younger because he always refused them out of fear that they would fog his brain