Potato the cutie

Oh yeah I 100% understand the sentiment, and as someone who has been involved with this genre since back when even discussing any sort of LGBTQ+ media/work was risky even in the hidden corners of the internet, I can tell you that the last 2 years or so were genuinely revolutionary for the CBL industry, a prime example is Double Helix, I don't know if you're aware but this series was based off a movie that was in turn based off a novel, I had watched the movie and its sequel a long time ago and completely forgot about it, then double helix happened and I was suddenly reminded of it, back then I didn't understand much of the plot because the movie wasn't even translated yet, but I still remember its comically tragic ending and how it left me so confused about the progression of the plot, I'm not sure if you're aware but back then any LGBTQ+ project set to air in China was basically handed the death verdict for both its actors' and their future works in the sense that no LGBTQ+ series/movie was allowed to have a happy ending or paint the community in a positive light in fear of it "turning the viewers gay" to put it mildly, and that's before the ban was even a thing, so when I found out this series was a remake of that movie I was intrigued to say the least, now I was never a fan of the story to be honest, but the way it was plotted and how it ended was much more in line of what I knew about the novel and far more logical then the movie, same can be said about Revenged Love which was also based off an older mini-series, the CBL industry is really trying to take hold of the reigns of its future and essentially fighting back against the guillotine that was placed upon its head, and the sheer force of it is definitely making the Thai industry executives sweat.

Like you said, the first few projects definitely felt experimental in the sense that there was this weariness around their every development, but when their release generated this insane overwhelming support, it finally pushed them to take that final step, and the fact that many of the recent chinese actors are actually quite known is evidence of the shift you just mentioned, it's almost reminiscent of the early days of Thai BLs, except with CBLs they're trying to find actual compelling stories and works instead of settling for the bare minimum of plots, and that's not to say that Thailand didn't try to do the same in its earlier days, but I feel like somewhere along the way it stopped being about the message and more about the rewards of said message, and that's truly the most unfortunate part.

Hopefully this will serve as a wake up call for them because frankly the things I'm hearing about this series are concerning, not to mention the rumours of the plot being AI generated, which would actually make it make more sense unironically, but yeah the actors and the viewers definitely deserve better.

Thank you for your wonderful insight on this topic, it was really lovely having this discussion with you, please excuse my very disjointed replies as I'm currently knee-deep in work while simultaneously fighting sleep deprivation lol, I look forward to seeing your comments under more entertaining works in the future 🤍

I feel like the Thai BL industry felt threatened by the rapid rise of CBLs, hence the rushing of almost every project coming out, it's like the release and overwhelming reception for ABO Desire really set off alarm bells for the industry and honestly it's quite understandable, because if you told me 2 years ago that the first official ABO project would be Chinese I would have genuinely laughed in your face, but then it happened and the people loved it for all its quirkiness and its cast, not to forget the release of Revenged Love made it a fight between titans, and then followed by Sammy's Children's Day and that's basically a slam dunk because what do you mean this one is Cantonese? And don't even get me started with the historical ones, 2025 and 2026 were really busy for the CBL industry lol, so yeah, it's no surprise these companies are falling over themselves to see who will outdo the other in this race.
I feel like this is really unfortunate for all the good actors, these companies are basically wasting all their talents to pump out more projects regardless of quality and logic and as I said once before, it's basically taking out the joy and entertainment from all their work, which is very sad really, hopefully they'll rethink their strategy and actually start working on their plots lol
Here's to hoping these guys will get a better deal next time

Thank you for summing up my feelings about this series.
Quite honestly I didn't plan on watching it, mainly because ABO isn't my thing and my very limited knowledge on this genre comes from ABO Desire and some bits and pieces I picked up from my teenage days back on Wattpad, I have been basically forced to sit down for this one -as is the case for most of the things I've seen recently- by one of my friends raving about the actors and their chemistry on their previous work (which I haven't checked out, I'm still trying to somewhat distance myself from Thai BLs lately) but I thought why not since I have the time, don't judge a book by its cover and all that, well unfortunately for me I should have judged this one by its author because truly what is going on with this plot (if there was one to begin with)?
And I don't want to be too hard on the actors, but why is everyone overacting? they're overdoing it to the point where it's laughable, no offence to any fans of the pairings but the acting in here is really not it, I won't deny that they have chemistry, not necessarily my type of chemistry but it's definitely there, the acting itself however, is a lot to unpack. Honestly I'm a little disappointed to see this after hearing all about the actors, hopefully their next project is a little stronger.
"Tell me what I’m supposed to be excited about"
I'm gonna be a little mean and say that you can be excited that it's ending lol, again no offence to any fans of the series or its actors

Thank you for the lovely wishes for my exam, it would honestly need a miracle for me to pass this one with my mental health still intact lol, I'll definitely try to update you on my journey as I venture further into this plot, right after I get back into it.
I unfortunately haven't watched any of the last 4 or so episodes so currently sitting on episode 10, I was however, spoiled a little for what happens in them by the comments on here, but it genuinely doesn't change how I feel about this series, I might be of the unpopular opinion that tragedies in fiction while unnecessary in certain plots, are still portraying a beautiful part that is ultimately inseparable from life itself, you'll find that spoilers are often for me like the hook reeling in the fish so you're right about me going in already searching for the minor details and hidden messages, a habit I've had and never seemed to grow out of is to never get into something without at least watching the trailer, and this proved to be the right call for this series because oh my god the things you can miss if you so much as blink.

Truly there aren't enough words to describe what I feel while watching this series or listening to its BGM, pair that with my brain as it reads all your thoughts as you pour them out onto your keyboard and I have now forever lost a piece of me to this series, honestly don't save me, I'm right where I want to be, so don't be sorry for my academic life as it takes another hit, there's something far more important happening to me right now, my life is being changed for the better 😆

Please forgive how disjointed and all over the place my own ramblings are, I'm really trying to get my brain to cooperate but chemical formulas are threatening to spill out instead of coherent thoughts, so I'll have to do with whatever it strings together, and thank you again for sharing your brilliant brain with all of us, it genuinely deserves to be heard and admired 🤍

So I don't know how to put this, but I kid you not your comments on here were what made me start this series, and I have to thank you for setting me on this journey because quite frankly this series didn't just climb up my list of favourite shows, it barged in demanding to be on top and I couldn't even stop it if I tried.
See I'm not usually one to get into things once they go viral, especially shows that have been basically overtaking my feed, if it's not outright forced upon me by someone else I usually put off getting into them untill the hype dies down because the general consensus on them are often in my opinion still very fresh and highly influenced by what I would call "the heat of the moment", but once in a while I try to test the waters and just browse the comments and reviews on them to get a feel on the vibes they bring to the table, and the first comment that popped up for me on here was yours, and quite honestly I don't even remember what episode it was about, but I really had no plans of starting anything at that time because of my infamous mile long plan-to-watch list, silently glaring at me from the side as I add more to it (mentally but not physically since that would be too much commitment) so picture this, a sleep deprived potato, lounging on the couch with her back to the material of her upcoming deadly exam, loading this page for the first time, and suddenly I get hit with one of the best thought out and written comments of this year, and I just couldn't get this show off my mind because someone had just painted this ethereal picture in my head, and now we're here.
This is now the second CBL this month that has had me on a chokehold, not to mention with yet again another insane OST playlist that had instantly been added to my playlist, not even a minute into it and I was already looking up the BGM, now I'm writing this reply to what has become my most anticipated commentary of the week from any viewer on this page because I really needed to let you know that you are the reason why my mornings for the past week or so have been beginning with one of ZELIA's masterpieces, so thank you and I apologise for the lengthy rant in advance, but I couldn't let this worm wiggle in my brain any longer lol.
Hope you have a nice day/afternoon/evening 🤍

Hmmm I wonder if the uncertain future of this series and it's abrupt ending has anything to do with the recent detainment of all these danmei writers 🤔
It would make sense as to why this series basically went from being fast paced with slightly wonky editing to a bunch of chopped up scenes strung together by the fans' undying hope, if the news is proven then I can see why the production company and the actors are being a lot more cautious, especially with HCX being allegedly involved in that recent scandal.

I noticed you mentioned the bit about this being a lost in translation moment of the whole senseless thing and I honestly never thought of it that way but thank you for pointing it out, it could be that the writer meant for it being a dulled senses case rather than a completely without senses one, so thank you for the insight 🤍

You're very welcome, and thank you for replying 🤍

You're absolutely welcome 🤍

Oh I absolutely agree, the logic of adding this scene of her indulging in it while having no senses is laughable, but as I said, I believe they added this bit for the slapstick comedy effect, regardless of reason or logic 😅
Edit: I just went back to look at the scene the other replier mentioned and yup, that is absolutely an oversight by the writer but like you mentioned, writing a flawless senseless person isn't really achievable i guess 🤷‍♀️

Lol ok so, I saw your comment and couldn't help but reply to offer a little bit of - probably unnecessary - insight
In Asian culture, snacking on seeds and nuts is not necessarily for the enjoyment of the taste, but rather the fun in the repetitive motion of cracking the seeds or shells open, also this tidbit specifically is supposed to reference nosy or background folks who when they have nothing better to do they observe the crowd and give unsolicited commentary, you could basically say it's similar to when western movies whip out the popcorn when something is going down as slapstick comedy.
I hope this gives you some more context here and I apologise if I come off incomprehensible but my brain isn't very cooperative right now 😅

I'm sorry if I sound hateful to you but that is definitely not my intention here, I'm sure these actors are working hard and I genuinely wish them all the best, but I don't think having a different opinion is an issue here.
To first reply to your first comment, does the age gap bother me so much? No not really, but do I find it a bit weird? yes absolutely, and it's not about the age itself here, it's about the differences in mental states/experience between a very young adult who has barely had the time to actually discover themselves and a much older man who is presumably well established in both his life and career, having said that, I do think that both Nunew and Zee are a little lacking in skills and that they could improve on some aspects a bit more, does that make them any less talented? No! Nunew is a great musician and a very talented young man and the same goes for zee, I don't know if you're confusing constructive criticism with hate, but commenting on someone's skills isn't hate, and while you and many others might enjoy their acting, some of us just don't enjoy it as much, and that's totally ok, it doesn't mean I'm hating on someone just because I have a different opinion to your or someone else's opinion, it might sound very subjective to you but I'm trying to be as objective as possible here, and that's coming from someone who really likes Nunew's music and has enjoyed watching Zee on other shows, so if you love this series and are genuinely enjoying it, more power to you, I genuinely hope your watching continues to be joyful, I just hope you'll be a little less hurtful when engaging with someone else in the future, because calling someone bitter and a hater just because they're sharing their own thoughts is not the way to go about this, hope you have a good day.

Oh no not at all, I haven't really done anything worth thanking but thank you for the kind words🤍🤍
having different opinions doesn't mean I have to be mean about it, I feel like people have become a little more prone to getting upset over opposing opinions because of cancel culture lately, so some people might take it a bit personally when someone questions their logic, and I can see how someone a little more on the defensive side might take your comment as a jab at them, but otherwise, i don't see anything wrong with what you said above.
Thank you for replying to me btw and hope your week goes great too 🤍

Yeah, the visuals definitely take the stage more each day while the plot reclines back in its seat like it's not the producers' business to focus on the story more instead of the anesthetics 😅

Oh no it's totally fine lol, I was just a little confused at first 😂🤍

While I do support constructive criticism and highly encourage it, I can see how some commenters could have worded their dislike for some of the characters or the actor's abilities a bit better, I personally haven't stumbled upon any downright hateful comments so far, but I can't pretend like there isn't any unfortunately, so I can see your point of view, especially if you're someone who's really enjoying this series, unfortunately we can't control how some people express their less than pleasant thoughts and I apologize if you've encountered anyone like that, while I might not be enjoying it as much, I wouldn't dream of hating on someone for something *I* personally have issues with, so yes, your comment and thoughts on this are very much valid, even if some might not agree with this. I hope your future viewing are much more pleasant 🤍

I'm not entirely sure but I think some elements of it are CGI (e.g. the overall looks and exterior design of some of the castles and sometimes the projections and holograms) while the sets like the throne room or the halls where we see the characters lounge in are real and built by the company.
I could be wrong so feel free to correct me but yeah, as far as I can tell a lot of the sets seem legit.
Edit: I think I might have realized why you thought it was AI generated 😂 I didn't mean the sets were AI in my original comment, I was just making a comparison to that situation, I meant that as more of a figure of speech thing not that it's actually AI yk, I apologize if my comment was a bit confusing. 😅

Totally agree, I'm honestly waiting for a few more episodes to come out to decide whether this is worth the watch or if it's just another butchering of these webtoons, hopefully it's the former 😂

Honestly the wording makes me think of the saying "wet behind the ears" and now I can't not think of the ML as this immature wide-eyed intern at one of those techy companies we see in dramas instead of the "tough" personality he's supposed to sport, but yeah, very weird wording 😅
honestly I'm just here for the twins and chaeyeon 😂

Agreed, cuz genuinely wtf? 😂