Whole Arc

Arc: Genre

Becoming the Phoenix – Six

War is on. Meng Yao deals with Jin Zixun and tries to take care of Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen. When Wei Wuxian returns, Meng Yao discovers a certain fellow-feeling, and they make a slightly bloodthirsty deal. Drama with a touch of angst, Porn, I-4

Meng Yao was glad that Jin Guangshan had declined to remain in the Unclean Realm or, indeed, to take the field himself. He was very glad he didn’t have to deal the man’s cold avarice while they were all fighting Wen for their lives, one way or another.

He just really wished that Jin Zixun hadn’t been the one left behind as deputy.

Becoming the Phoenix – Seven

The war reaches its climax. Meng Yao refuses to stay back for the final battle, which turns out to be a very good thing, especially when Jin Guangshan tries to grab whatever power he can in the aftermath. Wen Qing calls on Jiang Wanyin to honor his word to her, and ends up in Lan custody while Jiang protects the rest of her clan. Drama with all the politics, Action with some violence, I-4

Coordinating an aggressive campaign was extremely wearing. Time to prepare or double check decreased, the Wen commanders became more close-mouthed the worse things went for them, and Wen Ruohan was becoming both less predictable and more isolated, neither of which were conducive to getting information on his plans. On top of that, no one could predict when the appalling new corpse puppets might appear. Meng Yao might be the only one who took the uncertainty as a personal affront, but it was wearing on everyone.

When Jiang Yanli, of all people, arrived at his tent to go over his projected numbers and her supply lists looking downright frazzled, Meng Yao tied his tent doors firmly shut and made them tea. He was absolutely not letting one of the campaign’s pillars of calm snap.

Becoming the Phoenix – Eight

More political maneuvering sees Meng Yao trying to take care of Jiang as well as Lan, and very grateful for Jiang Yanli’s accumen. With the campaign over at last, he and Lan Xichen finally have time for ceremonies to formalize their marriage. Nie Huaisang takes a certain glee in assisting. Drama with even more politics, Romance, Fluff, I-3

When Xichen told him that there was to be a victory banquet, of all things, organized by Jin Guangshan of course, Meng Yao buried his head in Xichen’s chest and positively whimpered.

“Does there have to be a banquet?” he groaned, indulging in the luxury of complaining while he could. He could clearly forsee an evening-long political siege, in this.

Becoming the Phoenix – Nine

Lan Xichen agrees to bear his (grounded) brother’s invitation to Wei Wuxian. In the course of this, he and Meng Yao figure out at least some of what happened to Wei Wuxian. Drama, also a dash of Porn, I-3

“I would like to send an… invitation.”

Meng Yao didn’t even need the hesitation over the right term to know who this was about, though he did very privately think that ‘demand’ or possibly ‘kidnapping’ might be closer to what Wangji actually wanted to do. He had not been taking well to the slow pace of Wei Wuxian’s recovery, in Wen Qing’s hands, nor to his own restriction to the Cloud Recesses after his first visit to Lotus Pier had managed to last over two weeks.

Becoming the Phoenix – Ten

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are courting, to everyone’s amusement and/or exasperation. Jin Guangshan is still maneuvering for power, and Meng Yao and Lan Xichen work to stymie him at the Phoenix Mountain night-hunt. In the background, Nie Huaisang plays matchmaker a bit for Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan (who needs all the help he can get), and Wei Wuxian has a long-overdue discussion with his brother. Romance, Drama, Action with some violence, I-4

Meng Yao was almost, a little bit, starting to sympathize with Lan Qiren on the subject of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

Just a little bit.

Becoming the Phoenix – Eleven

In the wake of Phoenix Mountain, everyone starts to settle into the futures they’ve found for themselves. Drama, Romance, Porn, I-4

“You were right.” His husband smiled at him, soft and rueful. “Mingjue-xiong agrees that it should be me.” And then his smile quirked a little. “So does Pan-guniang, apparently.”

“I’m not surprised. She had the very closest of views, of you bringing half the cultivation world to a halt simply by standing and taking no action. Even if she were shaky on her philosophy, that would have been a bit hard to miss.” He laid aside his own papers and reports and crossed the room to kneel by Xichen’s writing table. “Would it make you unhappy, to do this?” If the answer was yes, then he’d find someone else.

The River’s Grace

Wen Qing isn’t used to being the one protected, but somehow Jiang Yanli keeps managing it. Drama, Fluff, a touch of Romance, I-3

They went down the stairs and through two courtyards that looked considerably scruffier and more lived-in than the guest quarter usually did, dark wood rails draped with drying laundry along one side. Jiang sect cultivators frowned at the crimson of her robes, but stepped back out of their way and bowed as Jiang Yanli swept her on by. Wen Qing’s heart clenched with how much it reminded her of Wen cultivators giving way before her as she glared them out of her brother’s path.

Fire and Fleet and Candle Light

A rewrite of the end of Regionals and the month until Nationals. Echizen gets obsessed, Rikkai is still on edge, Tachibana is brooding, Momo is insightful, Kirihara retrains, Atobe is annoyed, Fuji gets down to business, An is delighted, Yukimura is not particularly happy, Tezuka is plotting, and everyone is coming to town. Action, Drama, I-3

When the match with Sanada reached five games all, Ryouma knew he was in trouble. It was a new feeling. When he played his dad, he was always in trouble, so the knowledge was meaningless and he’d learned to ignore it. When he’d played Tezuka he’d barely had time to understand that he really was in trouble, and notice what it felt like, before the game was over. After all, it wasn’t like a lower score meant he was losing! He’d come from behind plenty of times and won anyway.

But he could feel his pace falling, now.

The Fire Shall Never Make Thee Shrink – Day One

Rewrites the Nationals matches in which tension and uncertainty still abound, motivations are examined, justice is served, second-years consider the future, and everyone gets extremely heated up. Action, Drama, I-4

His teammates knew things he didn’t. Knew things about the teams here and who they were and what they’d done years before. It was like… like a road that they’d been walking down and he’d… he’d been in a train tunnel. He knew everyone on the train, all the best international players, their moves and their statistics. But he didn’t know this road, and it felt strange. He had to rely on other people’s knowledge, here.

If this was also what Tezuka-buchou meant about his team supporting him, he wasn’t sure he liked it. But his dad’s train-tunnel way obviously wasn’t good enough to win with, so he supposed he’d have to try this one anyway.

The Fire Shall Never Make Thee Shrink – Day Two Morning

Quarter-finals. Fudoumine is making progress and gives Shitenhouji a run for their money, Higa is shocked by Rikkai, and Kirihara has an epiphany that he doesn’t particularly enjoy. Atobe, on the other hand, enjoys his quite a lot.Action, Drama, I-3

The Fire Shall Never Make Thee Shrink – Day Two Afternoon

Semi-finals. Atobe takes Sanada by surprise, Zaizen’s senpai help him start to think more flexibly and Echizen finishes the job, and Shiraishi pushes Fuji all the way. Action, Drama, I-4

The Fire Shall Never Make Thee Shrink – Day Three

Finals. Spectators gather and next year’s players start to think about the future, as Rikkai and Seigaku battle it out. Yuuta is gleeful, Kirihara is thoughtful, Zaizen starts getting to grips, and Echizen finally figures out what’s more important than winning. Action, Drama, I-4

Ink Burns

Fanfiction by Branch