oh yes definitely!! the fact that wrio saw through lyney once doesn't mean lyney will allow him to do it again. he'll amp up the charade, smiling sickeningly sweet smiles and speaking words dripping with honey and venom, and that only motivates wriothesley more to rip that mask off of lyney. he'll try to get a rise out of lyney just so he can get a glimpse of what lyney really thinks and feels, and he almost feels relieved whenever lyney lets his facade slip just a bit. the more wrio pokes and prods, the more lyney covers up, to the point that it becomes suffocating for the both of them.

i think what would eventually do the trick is wrio being genuinely sweet and kind. instead of the banter and the jokes, he'll say something profound about lyney to his face. the genuineness of it shakes lyney so much he stops pretending for a little while, feeling like it's only just to be truthful in return. it makes sense, of course. provocations would only make lyney clam up more. honesty would build trust, and trust, however fragile, would lower lyney's walls. obviously lyney draws them right back up after the sweet moment has passed, but now wriothesley knows what is possible, and so does lyney, in a way. and while i think lyney's charm and charisma are amped up in his everyday performance, they're still core traits of lyney's personality. they're just more muted and genuine around the people he actually trusts: they're not acting as a shield anymore.

anyway uhh hfkddj thank you once again for sharing your thoughts anon!! it's made me so happy to receive messages and questions the past few days 🥹❤️❤️❤️