читать дальшеAlso, in the novel, Run Yu met his nephew for the first time when the little boy was fishing for a wife. That meant he had stayed away from Jin Mi until he had seen the boy fishing by the river. In the drama, however, the little boy was already very familiar with his Uncle Run Yu and mentioned that Run Yu was the only one who remembered his given name. Even his parents didn't remember his name and just referred to him by his nickname ("Little Egret"). Therefore, it was assumed that Run Yu had been secretly stopping by the Mortal Realm, supposedly to catch glimpses of Jin Mi from afar. From the familiar way the little boy greeted Run Yu by the river, it looked like Run Yu had stopped by very often to spend time with the boy. Somehow, this makes me cry for Run Yu even more. The poor man. He stops by to peek at the woman he loves and to hang out with the boy that could have been his son had circumstances been different. Then he returns to the Heaven Realm and sits there alone on his throne. Wow, how sad can it get? Geez.
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KuroiHato69
KuroiHato69
6 months ago (edited)
You are not alone in not watching 'Silence'... My best friend has never seen it because she hates violence and horror... If it is a great story I don't mind. What I am referring to is how the killer would take his female victims and trap them in a pit. Then he would make them rub lotion on to make them soft so he could skin them later and make a homemade 'woman suit'.
He would place the bottles in a basket and lower it down to them. After the girls rubbed the lotion on while begging, crying and protesting he would respond with, "It puts the lotion in the basket." over and over to make them place it back in the tote and he would raise the lotion back up to him. Determined not to see how much the girls are hurting by his actions... It's pretty messed up tbh.
I just see Run Yu becoming so cold and not letting Jin Mi go by the end of the series... I can understand why because he gave so much and she gave so little (almost nothing) in return. But he was so obsessed with her staying with him that I could see Run Yu ignoring the emotional pain she was in... Hoping that she would eventually turn to him, even if it took thousands of years. It is my dark and twisted humour so please forgive me...
Run Yu had no clue how to romance or seduce Jin Mi.. (ꐦ ´͈ ᗨ `͈ ) He clumsily tried to convince her father that he and Jin Mi loved each other. Even when he held her hands Run Yu never fought back when she pushed him away... He just sulked and accepted her response... According to the drama he was basically a homebody that worked and came back to his section of the palace... A game of Go, reading, playing the zither or looking at the flowers was his idea of fun. We never heard of him do anything else exciting... His innocence is part of what made him so lovable.
He was not exciting like Xu Feng who hung in the Demon Realm, went off to battle, joked with his lusty Uncle, had friends hanging around, etc. Run Yu would be boring for most average girls. But that was also part of his appeal... A man that was passionately faithful, goes to work and rushes home to be with the one he loves. And that is what he wants to do for all eternity. Isn't that what most women 'claim' they want?
Shattering the mirror and disintegrating the glass was Run Yu's way of releasing his anger but then getting it back under control. Being able to hide his emotions is how he learned to survive in the Heavenly Realm. That is why no one really knew him. Why Jin Mi could say that he did all of the horrible things that she thought he was capable of and it would be hard to argue against it. How could he say it was not true when she never really knew who he was. We saw what he became capable of doing... When a man has nothing to lose he will give everything... Something I was always taught... And Run Yu really did do anything and everything he could for Jin Mi...
Makes sense because in the Heavenly Realm the only way Run Yu would be able to survive is giving off the appearance of being the loner that wants nothing. It was the mask he learned to wear to stay out of trouble with the Empress and others. I really think that he had no idea how to take it off because of fear. Even as the Emperor he could not let his guard down.
I really have to thank you for sharing the excerpts from the book. I truly appreciate it as well as your views about it. The more I hear about Jin Mi from the novel the more I dislike the character... She just seems so petty... But 'Partying Jin Mi' makes sense with what we were saying about her finding Run Yu boring. And what mother would be dissatisfied with her son being an egret? So she wanted a flashy son like Phoenix? Not like she was the prettiest in her true form either! She is a snowflake... Literally! (ᗒᗜᗕ՛̵̖
As I said before, the show ends for me after the battle. The last two episodes made the Xu Feng/Jin Mi fans happy but it felt a bit flat IMO... As you said she seemed 'content' but not truly happy. When Run Yu and Jin Mi see each other at the lake I think it is the first time since the battle. Look how shocked she is when she sees Run Yu standing there... How he even has to pause when he hears her voice before turning... It would make me believe that he would come to see his nephew but avoided her and Xu Feng.
That is something sad that you pointed out... In Run Yu's mind Tang Yue is the child that he and Jin Mi were supposed to have... She even has her son dressed in white like his Uncle in the drama. And when Run Yu asks if she is happy after all these years, I believe it is because somewhere inside he hopes that she is not and misses him... Wants to come back to him... Maybe seeing that Jin Mi does not look as joyful as she should be with Xu Feng... But then he realizes that her happiness is her son... For Run Yu that is enough to make him back down. Just my perspective.
That scene of him alone in the throne room is too heartbreaking. First time I saw it I fell in tears asking myself what was wrong with me... It just seemed so unfair after all the character had been through... I know others cheered but no matter what I could not see Run Yu as 'evil'. He was a flawed and damaged person that did not know how to love, but desperately wanted someone to love him. In return he would love them unconditionally. And at the end he emotionally imprisons himself from ever loving again... It the saddest and most lonely existence... It just seemed so unfair...
·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧
The other day I heard a song by Zedd called "Happy Now" (Leon Lour Remix) and I wish I had better video editing skills because it would be awesome to take all of the scenes showing what Run Yu did for Jin Mi but her ending up with Xu Feng anyway... Is she happy now??? (｡•́︿•̀｡
Melanie
Melanie
6 months ago (edited)
I'm a romantic through and through, and so I am going to choose to believe that Run Yu, even when completely ticked off at Jin Mi, will never have the will power or the heart to treat her coldly for too long. Just like when she kneeled outside his palace and he tried to harden his heart to walk past her, he couldn't do it the minute she turned her sad, pitiful act on him. So while he would most definitely hang onto her more tightly than ever if she were to return to him, he would never treat her indifferently or coldly, because he treasured her too much to the point of obsession.
This brings me to my second point. Jin Mi really should have gone back with Run Yu at the beginning of the verbal standoff between Xu Feng and Run Yu to stop war from breaking out. This could have saved the thousands who had died while she went around uselessly screaming for everyone to stop fighting. Jin Mi really annoyed me in the latter parts of the drama because her self-centeredness was so obvious. She never stopped to think about the ramifications to Run Yu when she decided to run off with Yan You. Run Yu, other than manipulating her to kill Xu Feng (but I think she needed to absorb some of that blame for that, too, and not just dump the complete blame on Run Yu), had always treated her with nothing but love, patience, and respect. The wedding had already been announced, the date had been set. In fact, it was to be held on the very day she ran off. Did she even think about how embarrassing it would be for Run Yu? He was the Heavenly Emperor, and everyone in the six realms was aware of how madly in love he was with Jin Mi. Then she just eloped on the wedding day and married his younger brother instead! If Run Yu had been a jerk to her, then I could understand her actions, but this was a man who loved her desperately! How could she treat him that way?
While I don't think Jin Mi understood Run Yu completely because he kept a large part of himself closed off, I think she had no doubt about his absolute devotion to her. She knew she was his life. Look at the way she was furiously and fearlessly yelling at him during their big confrontation. Most people would have been scared that Run Yu would kill them after finding out about his ruthlessness toward enemies, but not Jin Mi. She was pretty confident Run Yu wouldn't harm her and just kept screaming at him, slinging hurtful words at him. Even if she didn't return that depth of feeling toward him, she needed to at least respect and treat that kind of devotion he had given her with care. She was so selfish that I just wished Kuang Lu had knocked some sense into her instead of politely asking Jin Mi to be nicer to Run Yu after he had given Jin Mi half of his life's cultivation. I wonder what Run Yu would have done had he caught Kuang Lu knocking some sense into Jin Mi. I would have cheered, but Run Yu might have another reaction. :P
So Run Yu was an introverted nerd. I love that! Nerds are sexy. Nerds usually end up in successful, highly specialized fields and become one of the top money earners in their generation. Look at Run Yu, who ended up with the loftiest positions of all - Heavenly Emperor. Plus, he was hot, hot, hot, and so faithful in love. If Jin Mi had been smarter with a long term vision, she would have grabbed Run Yu up in a second. Who cares if he's boring right now? Jin Mi could change that. She could coax him out of his shell. She wouldn't be able to transform him into a wild party animal (but who really wants a party animal for a husband, anyway?), but she could just encourage him to be a bit more outgoing. Go to the mortal realm together and play harmless pranks on grumpy, corrupt court officials. Or go swim naked in one of the celestial rivers, hoping no one would discover them. (Ha) I think Run Yu would play along, since Jin Mi's playfulness and excitement for life were what had drawn him to her in the first place. (By the way, this is why Run Yu would never fall in love with Kuang Lu. She was too much like Run Yu - quiet, calm, mature, reliable. She was everything Jin Mi was not. Run Yu did not want calm and quiet. He wanted a taste of that liveliness and laughter that Jin Mi brought with her) Too bad Jin Mi was short-sighted. She would have been the most cherished Heavenly Empress in history and would not have had to worry about her husband taking other consorts.
By the way, when you had mentioned about Run Yu possibly turning into a guy who would just imprison Jin Mi and ignore her emotional distress, it reminded me of Dian Xian's first novel, Peppermint Thistles Without White Flowers. I started reading that novel a few years back but never finished it because I got too busy. Let's just say Dian Xian's novels all have very controversial leading male characters. (Yes, I consider Run Yu a leading male character, even though some view him as the second male lead since he didn't end up with the female lead. But remember, the original novel was written from Jin Mi's point of view. She was the lead, and Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost was her story about her and the important men in her life - Run Yu and Xu Feng. So I feel that Run Yu and Xu Feng should share the title of male lead. But I digress...)
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILERS FOR PEPPERMINT THISTLES WITHOUT WHITE FLOWERS!!!
In Peppermint Thistles, we again have a peerlessly beautiful female lead, this one more likable than Jin Mi, though. She was intelligent and witty. I can't remember the details, but she was adopted by the Prime Minister and his wife when she was a baby. She and the prime minister's son (her older adopted brother) fell in love, but because of her beauty and wit, the Crown Prince fell in love with her and asked for her hand in marriage. She married into the royal family at a young age, but the Crown Prince loved and respected her so much that he agreed to allow her time to accept him before demanding marital rights. Her older brother continued to visit her after she married, which the Crown Prince allowed since he thought they were biological siblings.
When the ruler of another kingdom (second male lead) demanded that she be exchanged for a peace treaty, the Crown Prince went to war for her honor. During his absence, she eloped with her brother (who was also painted as a very handsome, scholarly, sweet guy). During their time together on the run, she gave her virginity to her adopted brother. When the crown prince returned from war and discovered his beloved crown princess gone and that her "brother" was not her biological brother, he was livid, pretty much like how Run Yu was livid when he discovered Jin Mi had escaped with Yan You. With an entourage of assassins, he tracked the adulterous couple down, almost killed the brother had the female lead not threatened to kill herself, and dragged his crown princess back to the palace. He chained her to her room and raped her every day until she became pregnant. She was only able to escape after she faked her death. He was devastated by her "death" and never remarried.
Then, she eventually was captured by the second male lead (the ruler who wanted her in exchange for a peace treaty). I don't quite remember the details, but he fell in love with her, too. When she refused him, he drugged and raped her. She got pregnant a second time. I pretty much stopped reading afterward - no time and also I started to get a bit angry toward the male characters, even though every one of them loved the female lead to bits and were faithful with eyes for no other women. But rape... It was too much for me. I did hear from other readers that, in the end, she eventually fell in love with the Crown Prince (who became the emperor by the end of the novel) because he worked really hard to gain her love. The second male lead (the guy who drugged and raped her) raised his son alone and kept sending love letters to her, hoping she would return to him and their son. Her older brother ended up marrying some country's princess in order to borrow that country's army to take back the female lead. But the female lead, by that time, had already decided to stay with her first rapist...
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Melanie
Melanie
6 months ago (edited)
That was a brilliant observation that Jin Mi dressed her son in white, like his Uncle Run Yu! You would think that she would dress Tang Yue in "more exciting" colors, like red or gold, like how Xu Feng used to dress, since she supposedly loved Xu Feng that much. Instead, she opted for the more subtle white color. I dare to hope that perhaps she did miss Run Yu and this was her way of keeping Run Yu close to her heart. I wonder if Xu Feng or Run Yu realized that Jin Mi was possibly dressing her kid up like the man whom she didn't marry...
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KuroiHato69
KuroiHato69
6 months ago (edited)
I agree with you that Run Yu would not have treated Jin Mi in such a brutal way... At least not for long... I have a dark sense of humour and for some reason the scene from "Silence" came to mind. It was my strange thoughts that if Jin Mi kept pushing him too far he would go completely mad and never let her go... Run Yu was already mentally and emotionally damaged and as we could see she was the one that could completely push him over the edge. But she was also the one that could completely bring him back from that as well... It only took a word or a glance from Jin Mi... Look how elated he was when she said she would marry him...
And I am glad that you also said about how embarrassing it would have been for The Emperor to have his wife run off on him on their wedding day! I said that and the response was, "Well he deserved that!" No... he did not... The only thing we ever saw was him treat her with kindness and love... In return she basically did not care about his feelings at all... That is what turned me from her character as the drama progressed. But how horrible to have your wedding to the same bride ruined TWICE and everyone in all of the realms knows this! The first time it was a coup... Others were in on the details so you can move pass it.... But can you imagine the snickering, gossip and stories that would emerge about Run Yu after the second failed wedding? The man that rules every kingdom but can't get his woman to stay with him. ( O _ O ) He becomes a joke to others! No one would be able to look at him without knowing this and the loss of respect would definitely be there... Really sad when you think about it and completely selfish of Jin Mi. She never seems to think about Run Yu at all or how her actions affect him! So nice to see that someone else shares this opinion! You have no idea how happy this makes me!
And yeah I am also a nerd loving person. I prefer the awkward shy smart guy over the brash jock... My hubby is a complete nerd in every sense and I love him to pieces. There is something really sexy about intelligence and people with amazing, but muted, skills that really pulls me in. Like Run Yu is awkward, inexperienced in love, an excellent swordsman but you would never know that unless he was pushed to violence, extremely intelligent and an amazing strategist. Unlike the peacock that was Xu Feng who displayed his abilities to everyone Run Yu always surprised others with what he could do...
Xu Feng was good with figuring out things based on information given but not actually one that appeared to be able to think on larger levels. He could make a plan to capture Qiong Qi but would he have been able to capture the hearts and minds of others in the realm to fight for a change of government? I don't think Xu Feng had the mental skills to be able to do that. Run Yu did... Would Xu Feng have been able to study the forbidden text and come to the same conclusions to save JIn Mi's life? Would he have known enough alchemy to be able to manipulate elixirs? Would he have been able to come up with the same strategies to take over, rule and maintain a kingdom? I don't think he could have... Or he would not have put as much effort into it IMO. Look at his behaviour as the head of the Demon Realm... And that did not last long. Run Yu still remained the Emperor and is carrying on while Xu Feng gave up his duties... (Which btw means he is still a part of the Demon Realm because he took the blood at the ceremony... Something I did not think about until I was typing this... How does that affect Tang Yue in the long run?)
And Jin Mi did bring Run Yu 'out of his shell' in a way. Xu Feng even says that Run Yu is 'one that lives in seclusion' and is 'oblivious of his surroundings' so he found it odd that Run Yu would be such a 'warm-hearted and considerate man' to take Jin Mi to the Mortal Realm, hide her scent and live with her. So this was something so out of character for Run Yu and JIn Mi was the stimulant for it... She made Run Yu want to try new things, experience a side of life that he had never thought was possible, and I agree that no matter how intellectual and stuffy Run Yu could be he would have been quite open to try a lot of things if Jin Mi initiated it... I love the scenarios that you presented and I could actually see all of them happening if she had given Run Yu a chance... ~sigh~
Also, I noticed something when I went to look back at the 'drinking scene' in the drama. I could be reading more into something than isn't really there, but do you remember after Xu Feng stops himself from seducing Jin Mi he runs out and has his conversation with Yan You... Well if you look Run Yu was not at the table when he steps out. Remember he was laying there sleep when Jin Mi took Xu Feng in. Did Run Yu see or hear his brother seducing Jin MI after he just told him that she was not one they could hope for? I know at this point JIn Mi is someone that Run Yu has a crush on but think about how that would affect you. Your brother says back off and then starts to seduce her... It would make me feel like he was lying so he could get her instead... Run Yu even tells Xu Feng that he overheard his conversation with Yan You... So what else did he hear?
The next morning Run Yu opens up to Jin Mi about the situation with his lineage and asks her about her parents. He is trying to find out if what Xu Feng is hinting at is actually true... That also makes me think that he heard or saw something between JIn Mi and Xu Feng... Just a strange observation....
As for Kuang Lu, you are correct... She is so much like Run Yu that they would be like magnets and repel from each other... In relationships you need similarities but also things that are opposite as well. Growth and change are needed or the union becomes stagnant. A puddle gets dirty and dries up eventually.... A river must flow to keep everything in it alive. That is why people think that soulmates are ones that are exactly like you when instead a soulmate is a person that comes in, shakes your life up, makes you look at who you truly are and brings so much energy to everything you do that you actually feel alive. In Run Yu's mind Jin Mi was his soulmate. The person that was born to be with him. The one that was meant to be connected to him for all eternity. He cannot accept anyone else... Sad that Jin Mi could not see the how valuable she was to him.
KuroiHato69
KuroiHato69
6 months ago (edited)
Now I am completely interested in Peppermint Thistles! Thank you for giving such a detailed and fascinating synopsis of it! Sounds like a good read! Would make an excellent drama with the right cast. It seems that Dian Xian likes the tragedy of brothers (related or not) fighting over one woman. I guess it is the fantasy of being so wanted that you can be the catalyst for war! Don't we all wish for that to be true! (ᗒᗜᗕ՛̵̖ But I agree that I see similar themes with 'Thistles' and 'Ashes' based on your wonderful description of the events in the book.
It appears that Dian Xian likes the 'older brother' to be the intelligent, gentlemanly one, and the main lead male to be more athletically virile. The older brother does not force his love on the person but waits for it to be given willingly. But the main male takes advantage of the woman he claims he loves. (As you pointed out in the book Xu Feng abuses Jin Mi's 'innocence' and sleeps with her... Why is that not seen as evil by others that love him so much? Hmmm...) It would be interesting to see the same cast from 'Ashes' as the characters from 'Thistles'! Now that would be exciting and a challenge to the actors! Obviously, Yan You would have to be one of the three men... But which one??? (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑
And we know that the screenwriters would have to change a lot... Even with some of the darkest and most twisted moments there still should be some things left to the imagination... I don't know if Dian Xian will trust any more screenwriters after all that happened with the Ashes sсript changes but I hope so. 'Thistles' sounds like it would be amazing! Thank you again for your synopsis and replies! So nice to be able to analyze and break these scenes down as well as hear about other stories as well.
(●´ω｀●ゞ
Melanie