#and Wriothosely knows about it he just thinks it's a means to an end

[aha-chuu]

Can't stop thinking about the fact that Wriothesley is a former underground boxer.

Was it... legal? Did he do it for money? For the thrill? He's called a "Duke" now, but it's unclear if that was a title awarded for his ascension to the head of the Fortress of Meropide (like the monarch "knighting" outstanding people (Sir Patrick Stuart for example)). It's perfectly likely that he had a humble start in life.

The livestream also confirms that Wriothesley is a somewhat recent addition to Meropide, so I'd say he's only had this role for a few years at most. Does that mean he was boxing up until recently too?

Wriothesley is covered in scars (there's a huge one on his neck)... Is that from his past? Did someone pull a knife out in a fight, or was he attacked afterward from some disgruntled opponent?

If this was an illegal practice, he could have been set up to lose a fight and refused, then attacked by whatever mob bosses he fucked over.

Idk. I enjoy the idea that in his younger years he wasn't quite so upstanding - I have this image in my mind of little twenty-something Wriothesley getting caught when the underground fighting ring got taken down. Everyone's put on trial but really Neuvillette & the courts care about the organisers, not the fighters that got caught in the crossfire. And Wriothesley is all freshly scarred and clearly not guilty of all the financial crimes going on behind the scenes.

Obviously there's some class disparity in Fontaine. Wriothesley has that voiceline "don't break the law... seriously" but he also reformed Meropide and treats the reasonable inmates as equals. Imagine if that came from his history, seeing his peers be punished for actions that society forced them into. And maybe Wriothesley got off lightly, but he'd be able to empathise with all the people who didn't.

And there's that official art of Wriothesley and Neuvillette in the office together, which obviously doesn't confirm that they have met (yoimiya & Kaeya art lol), but they almost certainly have. So I wonder if it was that near miss with a guilty verdict that put Wriothesley on Neuvillette's radar. Neuvillette is caring, so maybe he took steps to help the people who got caught up in the fighting, including Wriothesley. And it's those connections that later allow Wriothesley to take a position in Meropide, making the reformations that treat those who are guilty more fairly.

Anyway yeah. Wriothesley.