#speaker li

Ooooh okay let me think about this one!

7. Favorite date activity?

Rebecca/Kana

Rebecca and Kana really like going out, anywhere with a good atmosphere. That could be a local festival, taking a trip to a concert, or--and I'm going to pretend there is one of these in Nivio even though I have no proof of it--dance halls. They loooove dancing together. Clubs are also an option, but Rebecca prefers the slightly quieter atmosphere, and Kana prefers making Becca comfortable.

Rebecca/Sebastian

Sebastian really likes dates that are just doing something together at home--cooking together, watching movies, mutually vibing in the same room while they read different books--and Becca is super into that. But if they're going to go out, I think they would do something traditional like going to a nice restaurant together, especially one that takes a while to drive to so they can just vibe in the car.

Sage/Li/Sebastian

Favorite dates for these three would be incredibly nerdy shit. They love staying in and piling under blankets to watch the extended LOTR films, but they would also probably do shit like going to a hobby store to buy and gush (argue) about comics. 100% go to cons together, too.

Yoshiko/Azalea

Summary:  Speaker should not be allowed on tumblr during breaks!

Warnings: None

Notes:  This is really just a very silly story based off a situation from college and a quote I said to my roommate then. (See above title) I couldn’t get the concept of these characters in this scenario out of my head soooo here!

Title: Cat’s Cradle Summary: Liam casts a spell to protect you all in a place that encourages magic to backfire. Warnings: Major character injury, hyperventilation Notes: It’s been a minute since I’ve done a BTHB piece, and this one is going to be much shorter than some of the old ones, but I really like this idea. (If you sent me a BTHB prompt a long time ago, I will fill it, don’t worry!  I just have some late gift pieces to finish first.)  I’m sorry that this ended up being a little more gen than you probably intended, but I just needed to give Li some comfort after all of the things @speakergame‘s author dropped on us in the Discord.  I hope you like it.

Also here on AO3.

Lily version.

Your first thought is that you should have known.  Somehow.  It’s not like the clues weren’t there, but you all came here to solve a completely different mystery, and so they might as well have been whispers in a hurricane.  Your sister’s headache, Rory complaining of the dark being harder to see though, Kana being even less willing to use their voice than usual... it wouldn’t surprise you, now, to hear that Sebastian or Azalea had been feeling the strain, too.  You’re glad that neither one of them had tried to use their respective powers down here.

But Li--

Li.

Ha ha you said you'd let me write yearning so please enjoy some Suffering. (I hope you like it <3)

Li's gender is not specified here, and the Speaker is referred to with they/them. Also kind of vague heads up that sex is heavily implied to have happened prior to this sad internal monologue, but there is no smut in this story.

35. a kiss on the space between shoulder blades + Speaker/Li

Adrenaline makes everything easier. The impulse to take a leap is so clear, so sweet, so simple, and then the pure rush of the fall is everything. It’s the warm pulse of a heart, something cool rushing through the hair, the glorious weightlessness—that’s the easy part.

It’s the impact that sucks.

When one’s heart is beating so gaily and furiously, it’s almost impossible to think of whether or not that pulse will survive the ground after the fall. The painful return to reality.

Li should know this by now. It’s a lesson that’s been learned a dozen times, and yet, without that adrenaline, life would just be a series of more and more painful “afters.” So, Li thinks, fuck me, I guess, for wanting something that doesn’t suck.

Then: Ha, Li thinks, humorlessly. Lips twist into a smile that might as well be a mess of brambles for how sharp it is.

The sheets are still warm, even if at least one layer of them was ruined and now sits cast off in a corner, and yet Li still shivers. Just once. Just enough to feel it. (No need for melodrama, here, after all; it’s not like there’s an audience.)

Li’s favorite person in the world is lying there, still tangled in the sheets that are left, breathing deep and easy in the way that indicates they’re getting some actual, real sleep. And even though Li is a little bitter—can’t help it, idiot—the witch is mostly relieved. That’s three happy endings here, even if none of them will survive the night.

The only ending that will do that…

(Li’s heart clenches desperately.) Nothing about this will last, and it was never meant to, and Li knew that going in. Obviously. Just because this is Li’s favorite person doesn’t mean there’s anything else here but some stress relief and comfort. It doesn’t mean it’s mutual. It never is.

That also doesn’t mean that Li is going to stop pouring heart and soul into protecting them. Body, too, if it’s needed, because there is no one else in the world Li would rather be with, no matter the cost. And whether the protection takes the form of spells or of soft words and warm hands, Li will give it; whether it’s to keep them alive or to keep them happy, Li will give it.

But here, in the dark, where the only sound is their breath (Li’s own has been held for too long), Li is selfish enough to curl up at their back and share warmth, to lean over with eyes squeezed childishly tight and place a kiss on their back. It’s the only kiss Li has given them tonight that doesn’t come with a mark.

Hey, guess what, my arm doesn’t hurt today!  So I decided to write.  :D  Anyway, here’s a little bit of a different flavor of the poly than usual, which is me leaning a little more heavily on the parts of myself that are similar to Sebastian and also indulging in some fun pining.  I didn’t link this to any particular prompt from the list, though, and this is longer than 10 sentences.  Just started writing and this is what happened.  I hope you like it!

(Also, anon, I am never bored of you.  I love getting asks for this game and in general.)

“They’ve always been like this,” the Seer said one day as she handed Sebastian a mug of coffee, both of them watching as Li and the Speaker constructed a plan one fragmented sentence that the other would finish at a time, sitting cross-legged on the floor, knees touching, and yet never once hitting each other as they gestured (like a single body rather than two).  And it suddenly made so much sense.

“It,” of course, meaning why Sebastian always felt like he was intruding when it was the three of them together, why it always felt like more than his height that kept him from walking perfectly in step with either of them.  Why he couldn’t, for once in his life, be honest about his intentions.  (Having these stirring feelings for them both only made it worse--or maybe better.  Maybe, at least this way, he knew that they were both good for each other, that they would both be happy, that he could walk away knowing they would both be treated with as much care as two people in love could manage.)

(It wasn’t actually better, but he told himself it could be.)

He really wasn’t sure what to do, then, with the fact that there were also moments when Sebastian forgot to realize he didn’t belong.  When Li picked up some thread of his dry humor and and wove it into something like banter, or when the Speaker relied on him like trusting Sebastian was as easy as breathing.  Talking himself out of flirting with them--either or both--in moments like that was incredibly hard, especially when it wasn’t like he wanted to disrupt what they clearly already had (even if neither, apparently, was able to say it aloud).  Sebastian didn’t want to come between them but to go with them.  To be a part of the world they sometimes pulled him into with those gestures and not wonder if he was the alien.

No, stamping down on these feelings would be so much easier if he was just jealous like any normal person.  Jealousy was aggressive and vile and easy to condemn, an easily-identified toxic byproduct, but longing?  Longing was a subtler poison.  It hurt no one but him, after all, so long as he had the self-control not to act on it.

For a second, the room fell silent, and Sebastian blinked, wondering if someone had asked him a question.  But the woman on the couch at his side wasn’t looking at him, and neither was Li or the Speaker, who were instead staring at each other, eyes wide and cheeks lifting into matching grins.

“--the banana rug horoscope trick!” they both said suddenly, at the same time, only to immediately fall into laughter.  Sebastian looked at the Seer, who thankfully didn’t seem to understand any better than he did.  He wondered if the look on his face was as fond as hers.

“Incredible,” Sebastian muttered to himself as the two of them seemed to argue about whether whatever they meant before would really work.

“You know all of that stuff about how when AIs talk to each other, their language evolves too quickly for people to keep up after a few minutes?” Seer asked quietly, a sly little quirk to her lips.

Sebastian huffed out a chuckle.  Yes, he said without speaking.  If he didn’t already believe it, those two would have convinced him.

In another instant, the Speaker rushed from the room and up the stairs, just as Li leaned backwards, flashing a lazy grin in Sebastian’s direction.  He returned the look with an unimpressed, raised eyebrow, face already having lost its amusement if only for the purpose of telling Li how unbelievable the two of them were.

“Don’t pretend like you aren’t part of this,” Li said, and Sebastian had to remind himself that Li was talking to both him and the Seer, that it didn’t mean what his heart wanted it to.

What passed his lips was, “We all know we’re stuck with you.”  What he held back was, I want to be.  Li kept smiling at him, even when the Speaker returned with a bundle of something under one arm, squeezing his shoulder on the way past, and Sebastian felt warm.

He knew better than to let his feelings get in the way of work, but this didn’t hurt.  Not them, not anyone they were meant to help, and (Sebastian realized with a breath of relief) not even himself.  So maybe it was alright, for now, to let the whole thing be.  He could sit by and keep longing so long as it was unobtrusive...so long as it meant he could enjoy that warmth.

Title: Wide Open Summary: Sometimes, fighting is a very serious business, and sometimes...this. Warnings: None. Notes: This is just a short piece for some specific trope-loving friends on the @speakergame Discord server, which you can find in the pinned post on that blog.  This story assumes nothing about either Speaker or Rory’s gender, only that Speaker is shorter than Rory.

Also here on AO3.

It wasn’t like there was a whole lot else you could do.  Yeah, maybe it wasn’t the smartest decision in the world, but Rory was protecting your sister, and that meant your instincts said to protect Rory, who was now wide open.  It was just that simple.  Never mind the fact that Rory was both taller and stronger than you, especially now, after everything.  And never mind the fact that you didn’t have a weapon at this point.

You just needed a little more time for the others, and whether you had to buy it with your fists or your words wasn’t nearly as important as making sure you all got out safely.

“Hey, no,” you heard from behind you, just at the same second that you felt two warm hands circle your waist and lift.  A clumsy imitation of a dance move you were pretty sure you’d seen done before, except this was both exasperated and a little more desperate.  You turned around as soon as you could, looking up into Rory’s eyes (and definitely not getting lost in those freckles, not in a situation like this, no matter how cute the blush growing behind them was).  “My turn to be your knight in shining armor, highness.”

The playfulness in Rory’s voice, the little joke you’d had since that first meeting, struck you with something that felt a little like an adrenaline jolt and a little bit like seeing Rory for the first time all over again.  It was simultaneously invigorating and disorienting, especially with the way the alley backlit those honey-brown curls.

And then, the whole moment shattered, as Rory smirked and added, “Also, you’re too short for anyone to take seriously as a human shield.”

“What--” you started to say, only to realize abruptly that despite Rory’s back being between the two of you and your foe, absolutely nothing had happened.  Except that you could hear your sister, behind you, laughing, as what sounded like badly-repressed giggling quickly escalated into a full cackle, if only for a moment.

You looked over Rory’s shoulder--rather, around Rory’s shoulder--to see the others nearby, as well as what you were fighting, now wrapped up neatly in some actually pretty sick violet chains.  The moment you made eye contact with Li, all you got was a shrug.

“We didn’t want to interrupt,” was the reply.

“It was cute!” said Azalea, seeming for all intents and purposes completely genuine, which only made it worse because you knew the other three were not.

“Ugh,” you groaned without heat, flopping forward dramatically so that your forehead fell on Rory’s chest before waving a hand vaguely in your friends’ direction.  “You’re welcome.”

10. kiss on that space where jaw connects + 15. a kiss on the jawline + Liam/Kaidan/Sebastian (NSFW)

It had been too long, in Kaidan’s extremely expert opinion, since he’d been able to actually be alone with his boyfriends. Either of them, or together—being on the road solving world-changing mysteries would do that, and of course in the grand scheme of things, Kaidan couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than helping Kira, keeping her safe from the offensively boring man with a god complex.  But that didn’t mean Kaidan didn’t also sometimes wish he could have enough of a break to make good on all of the smirks and burning glances between him, Bas, and Li.

Title: Strange, Familiar Magic Summary: There’s probably something to be said here about the red string of fate, but all Angus would like to do with it is play, thanks very much.  Warnings: None. Notes: The @speakergame Discord server was in dire need of Li fluff, so I stole @tpcignits‘s Speaker, Elizabeth, whose gamestate includes Liam, and this was born.  Someone should give me a prompt for Lily because the next fic I’m writing also includes Liam.  (Open invitation.)

Also here on AO3.

 “She’s a familiar, not a housecat, Ellie,” Liam was saying, but Ellie recognized that particular tone of voice, the one that came up when Liam was just determined to be right instead of actually being right.

She looked down at the cat on the old couch between them, eyebrows raised so high she knew it made her face look ridiculous as she watched Angus nuzzle into the palm of her hand, long strands of fur slipping between her fingers.  “The nature of cats is universal, Li,” she said, hand slipping under Angus’s chin to scratch very softly up her neck.  “She’s purring.  Pretty sure that’s proof!”

Li just sighed, flopping dramatically back onto the couch.  “Cats purr when they’re nervous, too, you know.”

“So you admit she’s a cat!”

Liam spluttered.  “No, what--”

“Besides, she’s connected to you, right?” Elizabeth said, the hand not petting Angus falling onto the couch by Liam’s thigh so she could lean closer (and not thinking about that closeness, nope, not right now).  Her voice fell to a conspiratorial, shocked whisper.  “Liam M. Cowles, are you saying I make you nervous?”

“Maybe,” Liam answered, arching up so their noses were touching.  Elizabeth was so enamored of the blush that Li couldn’t hide on his pale skin, especially not this close, not to mention the way his voice grew tight and eyes crossed to look at her (just like his cat), that the smirk on his lips went unnoticed.  “Nervous you’ll crush Angus, anyway.”

It wasn’t like their bodies were super close together, like this, but clearly, Angus did not think she had enough space if the indignant meow she let out was any indication.  Elizabeth looked down suddenly, starting to pull away (just because she had a dog, or whatever the technical classification for their demon was, didn’t mean she did not understand the cardinal rule of cat ownership: it’s the cat’s house, and you just live in it).  And there was the perfect distraction as Liam reached over and poked her hard in the ribs.

“Liam!” Elizabeth swatted at his hand, missing intentionally as she stood up.  “More like nervous I’ll bring up your favorite hoodie aga--”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Liam said, crossing his arms as Elizabeth moved across the room to where the skein of red yarn had been left after their friends’ latest brainstorming session.

“Someday I will have photographic evidence, and then you will be at my mercy,” she said.  It didn’t take too long to measure out an arm’s length of the string.

“Luke will burn them.”

“Bold of you to assume Luke isn’t on my side.”

Elizabeth punctuated her statement with a soft snip of the scissors, cutting the red string free and then wiggling it between two fingers.  Exactly as predicted, she saw Angus’s ears twitch slightly as the cat looked towards her.  “If I can get your cat, I can definitely sway your brother,” she said, coming back to the couch just as Angus jumped off of it and down to the carpet.

“You planning to bribe him with string, too?” Liam asked, rolling his eyes.

Elizabeth sat back down, then realized the string was too short to keep Angus safely away from her feet like this.  “I can’t tell you all my secrets,” she said coyly.  After a second of consideration, she pulled her feet up onto the couch, then laid sideways so that her arm and the string could flop onto the carpet and into Angus’s reach.  “There you go,” she hummed, whipping the yarn into patterns for Angus to chase.

For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were the little pap-pap-pap of Angus’s paws on the old carpet and the occasional breathy laugh as she did something that looked impossible if not for the immutable truth that cats were actually liquid.  At some point, Liam must have remembered that he did technically have an excuse to come over that wasn’t Elizabeth’s obviously stellar company.  When she looked up, at least, she noticed a book in his lap that hadn’t been there before.  But he wasn’t reading it.  He was looking at her.

Or, rather, had been, because as soon as Elizabeth looked up, his eyes darted back to the book, then bounced to his cat, then back to the book, and Elizabeth couldn’t help laughing.  “What?” Liam asked, the blush returning with a vengeance.

“Nothing,” Elizabeth hummed, tucking her feet up against Li’s leg as she shifted a little on the couch.

Angus, impatient to have further attention lavished on her, bapped Ellie’s hand where it had fallen still, dangling by the couch.  “Okay, okay,” she laughed, going back to making the string into acceptable prey for Angus.

“You know she’s going to expect this from you now, right?” Liam asked, and there was something soft in his voice that made Elizabeth wish she’d still been looking at him when he spoke.  Still, even just a quick glance revealed a smile in his eyes that was as teasing as it was warm.