cnovel!anon: I'm really enjoying一級律師 - I love the way GY and YSZ banter. It isn't gratuitous (some YA novels I read, I feel like they are trying too hard to be Buffy - lots of snappy dialogue jammed in for the purpose of having witty lines, without regard to making it feel realistic) but fits in well with their characters. I laughed at the way GY said he needed mint and ice before listening to YSZ to 降火, or YSZ teasing GY when (GY's knowledge of) his identity was revealed. (cont'd)
(2/3): the humor feels unforced. And I love Priest's novels (very plotty/ detailed worldbuilding), but I don't think she writes with that same gleeful spark of humor, so I understand your mother's point. I love both types of writing, just depends on my mood. 一級律師 is such a fun read so far - YSZ's pov is particularly hilarious (將進酒 starts out angsty - I'll go back to it when I'm ready for it) though I'm just starting to get into the parts with more about his backstory and bracing for knives.
3/3 You mentioned that they get together really early - I usually love the slow burn first time/getting together stories, especially the tantalizing UST, but I just got to ch 125 and cried at 有那麼一瞬間,他闔了一下眼睛,覺得自己好像又回到了二十多年前,還住在那幢舊居裡,日子慢悠悠地過著,他懶洋洋地靠在窗檯上,一邊畫著速寫,一邊半真不假地對屋裡的人說:「前兩天碰到一點麻煩事……」很奇怪,在這一瞬間的想像裡,屋裡聽他抱怨的是顧晏。So for all of my love for yearning and and (mutual) pining, having GY able give him love and support as his boyfriend at this time was lovely.
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FAMMMMMMM I'm nearing the end and last night I think it was ch198ish—that shit had me sobbing in bed. No spoilers but I was thinking about the world view this novel's plot invites...I kind of really love it. I'm curious to know what you think once you've finished heheheh.
Holy shit agreed MSL writes such good banter. Like, her 懟人 dialogue is shady. Yeah yeah yeah I know exactly what you mean by dialogue trying to be like Buffy. Writing clever cunty people is hard lmfao, and MSL is ridiculously good at it??? I mean I haven't finished reading QQGK but them, and Panguan for sure, and now 燕大律師. Also hello the fact that they're both so cool to the world but so warm to each other really adds a fantastic layer of spice to all their banter doesn't it? That mint shit. And when YSZ gets possessive?? Delicious.
YEAH CH125. I was wary and I'll be honest, I did put the book down at one point, but now I've powered through that brief hiatus I honestly don't hate that they got together that early. The pacing of the relationship in context of where she wanted the novel to go makes sense. YSZ FINDING LOVE AND SUPPORT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ALONE IT FUCKS ME UP UP UP UP UP and it also gives me new feelings about Xie Wen hahaha. There were a few lines in 一級律師 about YSZ walking alone for 10+ years that were super reminiscent of 判官, and I was vibing so hard.
oh okay the YSZ/GY storyline is delicious and lovely, but also the 喬/柯謹 story?!?!?! I was lying in bed punching my chest 'cause that shit hurt so bad. The devotion baby!!!!! I love that young master hahaha, he's a fucking homie.
It's interesting 'cause my coworker who was very shrug about the novel remarked that it wasn't actually about lawyers, but I find myself disagreeing very hard. MSL never once slips too gratuitously into action (imo); the stakes and pacing are all very much centered on case-building. In fact I think I found her dedication to it so impressive that even though I do objectively find this subgenre to be more boring than, say, Panguan and QQGK, I still want to keep reading because her characters frame the story in such a specific way, does that make sense??
Anyways, I'm on the final case and once I finish, I think I'll start on.....something else!! I have 將進酒 and 殺破狼 open but I might fucking go and finish QQGK first????
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Dead Dad or God?
It's been a handful of years and Ellie has joined the YJL
The YJL has the misunderstanding that her dad is dead
Which you know not exactly wrong but why do they think this?
Cuz Ellie and Danny are both little gremlin shits that found out they could speak to each other and hear each other no matter the distance or dimension,
So like I said little shits TM that they are decides to make it look like a prayer while speaking
So every time she says
"Oh yea let me just go tell my dad"
and then proceeds to put her hands together very obviously in a prayer.
This only somewhat stops when the heroes are in a rather tight spot and need some help, and Ellie goes "let me call my dad" in her usual prayer form and then the air beside her gets ripped open and this twink of a man who barely looks any older than her pops out like
" Yo I'm here to help!"
Now they think Ellie is a demi-human and Danny some sort of God.
" Oops? "
~
Just an Idea
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First-Class Lawyer, ch.108 excerpt
Yan Suizhi’s body gradually relaxed, and after a period of silence pillowed on his arm, he suddenly spoke up in a light voice: “Gu Yan.”
“Hm?”
“Are you a little afraid of me?”
Gu Yan halted in his motions.
Then, Yan Suizhi felt a touch to his forehead.
“...”
With a huff he caught that hand and pulled it from his forehead.
“Trying to call me delirious?”
“Where in the world are you getting that I’m afraid of you?” Gu Yan’s low timbre was far too suited to the night. The torrential storm poured on outside with the occasional flash of lightning and thunder but he remained ever calm and steady.
“I don’t mean that sort of afraid,” Yan Suizhi said. “More like...you’re a bit cautious.”
With that he flipped decisively over to watch Gu Yan’s eyes.
“You’re clever. You know what I mean.”
Gu Yan was silent for a moment before, “mh.”
Somehow, such a simple single note felt oddly stifling.
His brow pinched, and his gaze fell to a lamp on the side before unfocusing. A few moments later, he opened his mouth to speak: “After the explosion...I had a bout of insomnia, for a few months.”
This was likely the first he’d ever talked of that time. He fell silent after every sentence.
“It wasn’t that I actually couldn’t sleep. I just didn’t want to fall asleep,” he said. “Because at the time...the same dreams kept recurring. I would dream of an alumni gathering where Lola tells me there’s been a mistake, the explosion didn’t happen at the hotel you were staying at. You’ve gone back to your job, you’ve taken on a new case, you might clear up a week to go give a lecture back at school.”
This man was always like this—whenever he spoke of his once frank and immense emotions, his tone was always calm.
But that was what made it so upsetting to hear.
“Those dreams were always very realistic... Sometimes it was hard to tell what was the truth upon waking. That’s why I gave myself a lot to do. I’ll read over case files at night, including all the most tedious files on other explosion cases from those few years.
“Those cases actually weren’t relevant at all. It was just that they all covered explosions.”
...
But he had still felt dissatisfied. He’d kept thinking that maybe he had just missed a keyword, or maybe that the connection was hidden away in some covert corner. He’d kept thinking, there must be some undiscovered, convoluted reasoning to all of this because otherwise...how could a perfectly fine person be gone, just like that?
Gu Yan went silent again, then said: “These days...I still dream of some things. I dreamt of Fitz rushing over to tell me there’s been a mistake, that there’s never been an intern, that it’s all been an absurd fantasy. The last I’ve heard of you is still the explosion. The last time we talked was still ten years ago.”
Yan Suizhi watched him for a very long while, feeling for the first time in his life an indescribable sort of heartache.
“There hasn’t been a mistake.” He reached out and caressed Gu Yan’s cheek and neck. Then he leaned forward and hugged him. “I am alive and well. There aren’t even old scars left on me. Thanks to you, I’ve returned to my job and taken new cases, and once all this mess has been sorted out, maybe I’ll clear up a week to go give a lecture back at school. Of course, I’m also of the opinion that the first lecture won’t be all that effective. People might even faint from the fright.”
Gu Yan’s chin was tucked into his neck, his voice in his ear: “I know.”
He was very rational, and very awake.
He knew those were only dreams.
Maybe because reality had turned out so unexpectedly well that in the night, these dreams had to come and remind him not to get too cocky.
Gu Yan, in a low voice, “I’m adjusting.”
“Then you best do it quickly,” Yan Suizhi said, “or I’ll appear to have adjusted too quickly, like a scoundrel taking advantage of his student.”
As soon as he said this, he felt the cool bridge of Gu Yan’s nose rub against his collar. And then Gu Yan bit, murmuring, “I think you’ve misunderstood something...”
“Speak, don’t bite...” Yan Suizhi leaned away, but the motion was so small it didn’t dodge anything, obviously lacking all resolve.
一級律師 ch. 108
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