ohhh that's such an interesting question!! i gotta think about this deeply hmmm

i think a big factor in it is that he broke traveler's trust by not telling them he's Fatui. at that point the crush is probably still developing, but when traveler shows in the Meropide arc that they still don't trust lyney and keep him at an arm's length, lyney probably feels that his crush is and will only ever be unrequited. of course feelings don't just go away, so he probably ends up pining after them until well after that arc, only fueled by the way the traveler stood up to wriothesley for him during that confrontation. as the prophecy arc continues, lyney keeps ending up having to work with the traveler, and i bet seeing traveler's infinite kindness is like a punch in the gut for him. even more so that even with that kindness and compassion, it seems traveler can't really see past lyney's Fatui status, and that probably eats away at lyney over time.

a common headcanon is that wrio and lyney end up working together a lot during and after the prophecy's passing through some kind of Fortress/Fatui collaboration event, and i think it's in those moments that lyney and wrio come to see eye to eye a bit more. while traveler tends to enable lyney's masked behaviour, wriothesley keeps poking and prodding at lyney's mask because he's seen lyney without it before. being ~seen~ isn't something lyney can fight anymore with wriothesley, so he doesn't, and the fact that wrio doesn't seem to judge him just for being a Fatuus probably helps ease lyney's heartache over the traveler. the more time they spend together, the more at ease they are around each other and the friendlier their banter becomes. then arle's sq events pass, and the way traveler ended up involved i think shows that their stance on the Fatui as an organisation shifts a bit and takes on a more sympathetic angle, and having the traveler fight alongside lyney brings them closer together again. when all is said and done, lyney desperately wants to talk to someone to process what he went through with his siblings and his 'father', and while it would make sense to talk to traveler bc they witnessed everything, lyney finds he wants to tell wriothesley more than anything. i think it really soothes his heart to have wriothesley listen attentively as he recounts the story, to have wrio tend to the wounds he sustained during his fight and let him stay to rest for as long as he likes.

eventually the time comes that traveler continues on to natlan, and as lyney and his siblings send them off it hits lyney that he's mostly gotten over the traveler. he's not sad that they're leaving, he's not still bitter about how their falling out went down, he just... wishes the best for them on their journey and hopes they come back to visit sometime. he finds himself visiting wriothesley more and more outside of their collaboration meetings because he feels safe and seen around wriothesley and likes talking to him and bantering with him. maybe there comes a moment where they accidentally end up in a physically close position, and they have this awkward moment where they feel they should move away but also don't really want to. the way lyney feels flustered about being so close to wrio probably breaks it to him that the object of his affection has properly shifted. I'm sure it throws him off, mostly because while the crush on traveler had been almost instant, his feelings for the duke developed way more slowly. of course he had a grudge and a broken heart to work through, so that's why the crush on wrio ended up sneaking up on him. i think he has a genuine freak-out about it, overanalyses his thoughts and feelings until it drives him insane. his crush on traveler had barely even formed before its potential to evolve into something more got shattered, so he never really had to reckon with the prospect of Being With Someone. now that it's, like, on the table again, lyney really stumbles over things like love and intimacy and vulnerability and his future and how he doesn't actually know how to deal with such things. it might cause him to just keep his feelings to himself until he "figures them out", except he never really does because feelings don't work that way. whether wriothesley notices and/or reciprocates is something i will leave up to your imagination for now... 🤭

man this really made me want to see a scenario in which lyney and wrio end up in a fwb kinda situation to try and get over their respective crushes (who wrio is pining over is up to you lol) and eventually fall for each other, that would be super tasty 👀 but thank you for offering me this question to mull over, i had lots of fun figuring out how i think the scenario would unfold 💕💕 if you have questions or different ideas feel free to reach out to me again, i would love to know your take on it!!!

I'm not sure how to respond to this but most of all I'm impressed that you can just ~decide~ to ship something else lol. I don't choose the ship, the ship chooses me. i have no say in it whatsoever ¯_(ツ)_/¯

honestly.. no ship is safe from hate. popular ships get hate bc ppl are tired of seeing them or think they're bland or whatever, unpopular ships get hate because they have a specific dynamic that doesn't mesh with some people's preferences, barely known pairings get hate because "lol they don't even interact why would you ship them???". really every ship gets hate because there's always people who think it's cool or fun to be haters. I'm sorry your ship gets involved in discourse so often (i know the feeling) but there's not much you can do about that really, except for blocking ppl who make a stink about your ship and trying to enjoy yourself in your own little bubble. it's what i and many other wrny shippers do, and bc our ship is so often misunderstood we spend a lot of time just hyping each other up and yelling with each other and that makes for a wonderfully positive atmosphere in our little community. it's a big part of why i enjoy wrny as a whole!!

i understand your frustration, anon, but i hope you can surround yourself with people who enjoy the ship as much as you do (and preferably who wave haters away instead of trying to counter or reason with them. i get the urge but ultimately it's better for everyone involved to just let the haters fume) and who support each other in a way that makes your love for your ship grow, not shrink. ppl often say "don't let the fandom ruin your enjoyment of xyz!!" but the reality is that it often does take a toll on us no matter how much you try to ignore or avoid it. people join fandom for a sense of community, to find people who like something as much as they do, and to instead encounter a cesspit of hate and discourse is, well, discouraging!! shutting yourself off from fandom completely is one way to go about it, but that would probably just make me feel insanely lonely with my interests, because i thrive on being able to share my ideas and interact with people who have the same brain, so to say. over the years of being in fandom i learned to focus on the positives, but that takes practice and also a lot of luck. it's hard, especially when everyone around you seems to want to yell about the things they think are shit!!

so yeah, i feel you. i hope you can find a way to enjoy your ships in a way that works for you, because in the end it would be a shame if you let the vocal minority of haters spoil something that you love 💕

i had the same feeling!!! imagine throwing a party for your whole group of adoptive siblings and other members of your found family where YOU give THEM gifts... on YOUR OWN BIRTHDAY. this boy made such a habit of pleasing and entertaining others that he can't even really celebrate his own birthday for himself 🥹🥹 and then contrast that with his birthday art where he retreated to the workshop of his late mentor to quietly open gifts by himself... i think while he can mostly be himself around his siblings, it's still a more "palatable" version of himself that's cheery and upbeat and puts other people first, and he'd rather put them in the spotlight than be in it himself (in a way that he himself didn't orchestrate, i mean). i feel like just sitting still and accepting gifts and words of affirmation from the ones he cares about would make him uncomfortable, so he prefers playing host and making sure everyone is entertained, and only after all the festivities does he take the time to pull back and reflect on his increasing age and where he's at in life... this boy is like a shark in the way that he cannot stand still for the life of him or he'll drown in his own thoughts and lose himself so he gotta move and deflect and smile and keep himself busy 🥲🥲 someone give him a hug oh my god

oh my god yes!!!! that's such a cute scenario 🥹 your message immediately reminded me of this art by Cam (https://x.com/tanukified/status/1864760871085338730?t=yu1VHradd1UCU5FlQtzDFg&s=19) and also this super sweet fic where lyney and wrio get some bonding time in on a rare Fontaine snow day (https://archiveofourown.org/works/60199444) ❤️

as for my own input, i love the thought of wrio not really knowing what to do with himself when faced with such juvenile ways of having fun bc he's never really had the opportunity to indulge those when he was young. he's had to grow up so quickly and had to say goodbye to his innocence at such a young age :'( lyney at least has enough whimsy left in him to show wrio how to build snowmen and make snow angels and have snowball fights. wrio doesn't really see the point in doing the first two, but he gets the hang of snowball fights really quickly and gets much more into it than lyney ever imagined. they start out fashioning a dodgeball like playing field in the Fontainian countryside where there's lots of rocks and trees and bushes to hide behind, and they do some strategic battling with snowballs as ammo and not crossing the border between their territories. but it doesn't take long before they're chasing each other through the woods and using dirty tricks to hit eachother. by the time they're done, they're completely out of breath, covered in snow from head to toe and sweating rivers underneath their warm clothes, so they quickly hurry back inside to soak in a steaming bath and gulp down the hot chocolate lyney has been making for his siblings since he was young. ❤️

i have wondered about it yes!! but I've never really come across a name that seems to fit him. which makes sense, because that wriothesley was a different person entirely - there's a reason he left that identity in the past. i do wonder if he flinches whenever he encounters his old name in the wild... if he encountered it on an inmate's file or heard it spoken while he's taking a stroll topside. oh i do have to laugh at the thought of once wriothesley allows himself to get closer to those he already clicks with (neuvillette, clorinde, lyney, maybe even freminet) they help him think of a proper first name, one that suits him, so he doesn't only have the one name he clung to when his life changed so radically... it's the hardest thing he's ever had to think up lol (as a trans person who changed their name, i know the struggle intimately).

thanks for dropping by, anon!! hope you're having a nice weekend 💕

yes anon yes!!! i read a wrny fic once (fwb situation iirc) where lyney was quiet in bed too and it's always struck me as very in character for him. yeah, he's more introverted at heart, and yeah, he's probably had to keep things quiet around his siblings, but he also has a very tight grip on his emotions and what he shows to the outside world. i think even if he's feeling good, it's just not in his nature to be vocal about it, yknow?

of course making noise during moments like that isn't just for pleasure but also for communication, so you're right that it's gonna cause some awkward moments at first.... lyney is difficult to read as it is, even with wrio's practice, so if he's not making sounds either wrio finds it hard to gauge if lyney even likes what he's doing :( lyney finds it awkward to be loud bc he's not used to it and if he does it on purpose wrio might just accuse him of putting on a show... they agree to just communicate verbally at first until lyney feels more comfortable letting go and until wrio has had more practice reading lyney's body language. and yes i can totally see wrio working all his magic to get lyney to make sounds!! i even imagine him stopping whatever he's doing to jokingly bite lyney or tickle him where he's sensitive to make him laugh and loosen him up 🥹 ahhh they do have their fun, they're so silly ❤️

thank you for the scenario anon!! you guys just keep reading my mind and serving me things I didn't even know i was craving :O 💕

oh my god yes what a creative idea!! i completely forgot about what cat tongues are like bfkdjfk. man, what a weird sensation it would be to kiss a tongue that feels like sandpaper... i feel like as soon as wrio feels that tongue against his own he pulls back with a face like ??!???!!! and lyney has to sheepishly explain that his tongue is a bit different than those of other humans. i bet wrio can get into it as soon as he knows about it and gets used to it though. sure, they can't kiss with tongue very long before wrio's tongue starts to feel raw and sensitive, but there's plenty of other places on his body that lyney can use his tongue on... (god I've typed the word tongue so many times in this answer jfkdbfnfn) outside of spicy scenarios i can totally see lyney just suddenly licking wrio's cheek or his shoulder to tease him, haha. he's not cat enough to actually groom himself or others with it, but sometimes... the urge to lick... is irresistible...

thanks for your input, anon!! man, all my ask box visitors have such big brains ❤️

oooh those are all really fun ideas!! i like the thought of his nails being a little sharper and pointier than a regular person's. same goes for his lil fangs 🤭 just small subtle things that most people won't notice. it would also be funny if lynette got the physical cat traits while lyney got the behavioural ones. lyney gives people head butts and slow blinks to show affection, he likes napping (and making biscuits/kneading) in soft warm spots, he gets bursts of energy at the most random times and has always found it strangely interesting to watch birds and bugs.... a cat not in shape but in spirit 🥹. but you can totally have catboy lyney if you want!! canon is but a suggestion!! no one can stop you!! i know there's many other people who like catboy lyney, you just gotta find 'em ❤️

good call, anon, good call ❤️ i consider myself pretty lucky bc i had a circle of good sane and supportive friends in the fandom and tended to stay away from hate and discourse but MAN the things i witnessed secondhand... the antis and adam haters drove even the strongest person crazy, and it felt like a very competitive atmosphere to create in, even when you were a fan of the most popular pairings. i suppose most fans are laying low bc of the content hiatus but they're probably gonna get right back to stirring up shit once the OVA drops. i guess at some point i just got tired of everything related to sk8, to the point that i had to mute the ship i was once obsessed with :') unfortunately i don't choose what my brain finds interesting, but maybe that changes with the arrival of the OVA, who knows! i still get kudos from time to time on the fics i wrote for the fandom, and it makes my heart warm even with the disconnected i feel towards the source material 🥹 anyway, nice to hear you liked the anime as well (I'm assuming lol)!!

i do yes!! not as often as I'd like, but enough to talk about my favourites :D

anime:
- romantic killer: a girl who's only interested in playing video games and cuddling her cat gets magicked into what's basically a real life dating sim, and she does all she can to prevent getting romanced. hilarious and surprisingly genuine and sweet 💞
- blue period: a delinquent guy suddenly finds his purpose in creating art and grinds like hell to get into an art school. heartfelt and truly captures what it's like to be an artist 💞
- buddy daddies: a duo of roommates who are also spies accidentally acquire a daughter and learn what it means to be a family. a perfect package of cute, funny and heart-wrenching 💞
- yuri!!! on ice: y'all know it, I'm sure. i followed it while it aired and the experience was so wild i can't let go of this story even if i want to (I don't. i love it) 💞
- sk8 the infinity: i burned out on this anime HARD, probably due to the unruly fandom, and i still feel a bit weird about it, but it was my obsession for a good while and it's a genuinely good anime about skateboarding and friendship and chasing your happiness. 💞
- trigun stampede: a space western with lots of trauma and action and two brothers who make their issues the whole world's problem. gorgeous animation and great characters 💞
- haikyuu!!: a volleyball anime that is about so much more than volleyball, trust me. i followed the manga for a long while as well and it's just as awesome. you Will end up adopting and rooting for every character. all time favourite for sure 💞
- fullmetal alchemist (brotherhood): a classic! awesome characters and interesting lore and magic system. I've owned the first few volumes of the manga for like 8 years and still haven't read them, but that's on me. 💞
- orange: a girl receives a letter from herself from the future telling her to befriend the new boy in class and "save" him from [redacted because spoilers]. get ready to cry, this anime will punch you in the gut. 💞

I've watched more anime but these are the ones that stayed with me the most! and some manga-only additions:
- boys run the riot: a closeted trans guy happens to befriend a new delinquent classmate, comes out to him in a moment of vulnerability, and they use their shared love for street fashion to create a fashion brand. I've yet to read the final volume but the story is so wonderfully heartfelt and queer 💞
- to strip the flesh: a single volume collection of short stories, the biggest of which about a closeted trans man hiding his identity to make her father and (diseased) mother happy. also really wonderfully queer. i love my trans stories by trans authors :') (i also have the first volume of "until i love myself: the journey of a non-binary manga artist" lying around that i have yet to read. queer stories just inspire me very much!!)

that's just about it i think! lmk if you've watched/read/enjoyed any of these, i would love to hear your thoughts!! 💞💞

oh my god that's hilarious 😂😂 in the traveler's eyes lyney went from having massive beef with wriothesley to sitting on Wriothesley's lap whenever he feels like it, that would be such a whiplash to witness hgkdjkfj

man, real talk tho, i feel so sad for lyney when it comes to his situation with the traveler... ofc they had every right to feel betrayed and be suspicious of lyney after it came out that he's fatui considering traveler's history with the organisation and its harbingers, but lyney never really had a choice in the matter and genuinely believes he's doing good things... and right on the heels of that he has beef with wriothesley because he's fatui (though also not undeserved.. he did infiltrate the fortress to gather intel).. i wonder how helpless he must feel to be judged not by his character or his actions but by the brand of his allegiance... how he feels like he must hide every part of himself just to have a chance at being a normal(ish) person and doing normal things... the narrative constantly confronts lyney with the fact that the family he found within the fatui is far from perfect, that his work isn't always good, that even his own Father controls the orphans in her care through fear and violence. and it astounds me now that i think about it that lyney keeps choosing his family (and thus the fatui, the brand that marks him as suspicious and other) because he found love and happiness in his situation, because he sees the House not for what it is but for what it could be. he fights for his family and for fairness even if it sets him up against the Knave in a fight he absolutely cannot win. this boy really clings to every crumb of joy he can get his hands on and vows to share them with others in need even if he already has so little. GOD.

but anyway. people who know me know that i was a hardcore aelyney/lynether truther before i switched to wrioney, and that fully has to do with the fact that traveler can give him some valuable outside perspective, a friend outside of the environment he's always been stuck in. and because i feel that the traveler can eventually see past the fatui brand and see lyney for lyney, the way he's come to befriend childe. also, god I'm digressing like crazy but it always felt a little weird that lyney was so heavily judged by traveler for being fatui when they are literally friends with childe?? yknow, the harbinger who tried to destroy liyue by resurrecting an ancient god?? it's probably more the surprise than the actual fatui part since childe was transparent about his allegiances from the start but like... idk. by the time traveler arrived in fontaine surely their view of the fatui had gotten more nuanced... i Get it, and it for sure made an interesting setup for conflict, but it didn't fully add up to me hfkdnd. ANYWAY

i can totally see traveler tease lyney about the crush he used to have on them and lyney wants to simultaneously sink into the ground from embarrassment and cry bc surely the traveler being able to make fun of him like that means they started trusting him again 🥹🥹🥹