Ackery

100%

I understood that from the english translation, but I thought there was another implication I didn't get.

Thank you for explaining!

Everyone is beautiful ah, but Bing Yi...

Like, I'm sorry, but he is so ethereally beautiful, I genuinely find it hard to concentrate when he appears.

-> This interaction did not just happen!
ZYC: I think I have it *holding abdomen*, *pause* The inner core! I mean I have the inner core! *frustrated
WX: Zhuo, congratulations 😂😂😂
I may not be that fond of WX's character, but girl has some pretty awesome lines sometimes!
*plus if someone knows Mandarin and there was an implication that I couldn't get, please tell me I'm curious!

-> And obviously that was not enough!
PSJ to ZYC: (Your real form) should be a dragon
ZYZ: I say you're a mule, a stubborn mule
ZYC: Better than being a monkey *walking away
ZYZ: I'm a white ape! I've told you 10.000 times! *following him
(They are acting like 5-year-olds 😂)

-> Did it end there? Nope!
ZYC: Your good nose is such a great help, Ying Lei. You're indeed a mountain god *ZYZ starring like he can't believe what he is hearing
YL: Mr. Zhuo, did you just praise me? *ZYZ looking at YL still unable to believe it
ZYZ: After visiting the forbidden area of the Bingyi Clan, Mr. Zhuo became even better at sarcasm * Apply cold water to burned area 🤣🤣🤣

Well at least we can choose doing group therapy sessions 😂

True! It seems they have changed some of his characteristics! (Plus according to reddit, "it seems that the drama elevated ZY to be a much more important creature).

Yeap, same...
It felt so out of character that I truly won't believe it till I watch the whole ep. tomorrow!

😂😂😂

(Btw, fan fact, ZYZ's true form according to mythology (and reddit): "A beast that is like an ape with a white face and red feet. It is said that when it appears, chaos and war would reign over the world".)

It got even worse when ZYZ was hugging WX and ZYC was looking at her and then at him while PSJ was looking at WX 🙃

Ying Lei better actually be Ao Yin in that preview cause what the actual f#ck?

I was about to scold ZYC for mentioning they were five instead of six, but now I'm having second thoughts 🙃

Yeap! WoH, same thought! It was the first thing that came to mind when I read that comment, and I am actually impressed by the fact I never really noticed it myself!

Very well said, I agree! Plus, that scene in the last episode did remind me a lot of that one "turning white hair of WKX" scene in WoH.

Exactly, me neither. Unfortunately, it's so underdeveloped and all the important and big scenes are not really between WX and ZYZ to a point that I would even call their scenes unnecessary.

I agree. I think that if there was no romance at all, even with her character still in the series as a supporting role, like PSJ, it would be a much tightly written series.

Yeap, true. Didn't know about the original intention of BJ being older. Since BJ is a kid -both the actor and the character- I simply took that as another gay reference.

I did see the princess carry. When did the other thing happen?
Honestly, I didn't pay attention to the promotions, since I'm unfamiliar with Cdrama promotion techniques in general. I don't really search or watch videos about it, cause I am rarely this obsessed with a series (but I have seen similar scenarios in other non chinese dramas).

I feel that if GJM could, he would actually make this a same-sex relationship series, but he couldn't due to the ban. There are many queerbaiting series in general, but this one genuinely looks like it would be a male/male drama, if it could actually be one.

And according to a mandarin speaker I was talking to, even some of the phrases they use point that way. It looks like GJM did his best for the drama to pass censorship, while making it as homoerotic as possible.

Mentioning some I can find in case you are interested (these are from @Xiang83):
- "...when we use 天地万物 (tian1 di4 wan4 wu4) and 般配 (ban1 pei4) together, translating it as "everything has a match" or "everything must be matched" doesn't do justice to the fact that LL is talking about all living things in heaven and earth predestined to be matched, in a coupling sense. 般配 can be used for non-romantic situations such as social status, but 般配 is usually used when referring to between a male and a female as a couple."
- " the moment someone hears 朱厌 (Zhu1 Yan4) and 槐鬼离仑 (Huai2 Gui3 Li2 Lun2), they would have no issues with these 2 demon males in a relationship because one is an ape and the other is a tree, and they are a natural suitable match for each other"
- "In the flashback, ZYZ and LL are in the human realm, and ZYZ sees a paper windmill among several paper windmills at a stall. Upon remarking how pretty one of them is and picking it up, his first reaction is to want to insert it into LL's hair. LL recoiled as ZYZ raised the windmill to do so, while ZYZ is stopped only by the stallholder saying it is not a 髮簪. The connotation of a hairpin in chinese culture is usually a gift between lovers, or husband and wife. One could argue to the censors that as demons, demons wouldn't know the symbolism..."

I am sure I have missed many nuances that are used some of which I would probably never understand. The thing about many is that they are smartly inserted into the series in a way that they could pass the censors. That is why I believe that the FL is there (also) for censorship purposes. It is easier to pass censorship when there is an actual romantic female interest for the main lead. That aside, GJM has greatly underdeveloped the FL to a point that it looks intentional, taking into consideration how complex and layered the other characters are -especially LL, ZYZ and ZYC-.

Oh God yes, stay away. It is like 100% spoilers. I totally forgot you said you only watched 11!

It gets better btw. I think that you will enjoy it more in the upcoming eps.

😂😂😂

For real! I was also a bit bitter ZYC didn't mention him in his goodbye speech.

Yeap, they will probably die in a worse way 🙃😂

I think many (including me) are waiting for the drama to end before giving a rating.

Imo it is a bit pointless to compare them since they belong to completely different genres.

MJTY was darker and barely had any "fantasy" elements. It was also more "secluded". Didn't contain as many characters as FoF has.

FoF is lighter, has tons of humour compared to MJTY (at least in the first eps) and is of course based on mythology and is on the fantasy genre (gods, demons etc involved). Both are visually stunning though and have great OSTs.

About which one is better? It depends on what you like watching. Both have flaws, but for me they are both pretty great and entertaining. However, I can't really compare them 😅

Fof is a hit or miss drama. You will either connect with it and love it or you will hate it and find it bland.

It's okay!

I get what you mean. I didn't really mean it like that either honestly 😅

I agree that this was never meant to be romance focused series. It is more of a dramas that has "free will" as its main theme and everything else you mentioned is equally true.

I just referred to the romance part specifically, since you commented about the BL aspect and usually it is mostly connected with the romance element one way or another.

We all have different opinions and likes and dislikes and you not being that fond of the series is totally valid, since you are respectful about it and not attacking people because of your different ideals about something.

Anyways, I do hope you enjoy the last few eps more!

Yeap, that is why I wrote it as an "actual" hug. Like you said, that was more of a support hug.

It was indeed quite deliberate. I wouldn't be surprised if it is used as a flashback in future eps -maybe along with a conversation they may have had-. On the other hand, GJM may have cut it deliberately there. (directing wise).

P.S. I feel that any future hugs can easily be goodbye hugs, so I don't want to see them any time soon 😂

I do agree with wuxie1627 above, that ZYC treats BJ as his young brother, even though BJ seems to admire ZYC too much.

I do enjoy this drama -obsessed with it honesty-, but I do believe it was wrongly advertised. Even though it couldn't be as MJTY, since they are different genres, it was advertised as a dark fantasy drama -extremely depressing and angsty- judging from the trailer, and that wasn't really the case.

The thing is that BL's are banned in China. Even dramas based on same sex novels like The Untamed were censored and ended up being "bromances" ( even though for people that knew or were more observant, it was evident the main characters were not just friends).

So, you can easily keep watching disregarding that aspect of it, because you will not truly "see" it because of the ban. Even if it is portrayed in different ways, you still may not notice, if you are focused on the relationship between WX and ZYZ. And honestly, GJM will never confirm it. It's you who choses from which lens you will be watching it.

For me, it is evident that the director has inserted many homoerotic connotations not only between ZYC and ZYZ, but also between LL and ZYZ, but it was evident from the get go -and it is not the first time he is doing it-. The fact that the female lead is underdeveloped further proves this point. But, if it was just the two male main leads, it would probably never see the light of day cause of the censorship board.

Conclusion? This could never be an actual bl -because of the ban-, so you can watch it judging it by your own perspective as a romance drama.