Theory of Love (2019)

Vanilla Bromance

First half was nothing but Thirds angst & misery with his unrequited love for Khai, and by Ep 5, I was ready to give up.
I just wanted his friends to give him a verbal slap and tell him to get over it as it was clear Khai only loved him as a friend and that was all it would ever be.

But Then Behold! The story focus shifts to Khai, who miraculously goes off kissing women, decides he's gay, and has fallen madly in love with Third overnight! (yeah, right...) Anyhow, at this point the story starts to lighten up and become more fun to watch, so all good I guess.

The Acting was OK but Thirds character remained to be an uncharismatic drip throughout the whole series.
The side stories could have been more interesting, but never got off the ground. Giving Bone a gratuitous GF at the end, just made a mockery of his feelings for Paan. And as for Two & Un, I'm still not sure what their relationship is supposed to be (?)
....BB ;~)

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Thirddddd

It’s been a while since I watched thai bl, for reasons…
This drama was from the best bls I seen, it felt like a Hollywood or Netflix production.
Third: the story around films and love for directing and dramas with Third was so refreshing and beautiful, Third went through so much shit to find his self value and to know that he can let go of the person he loved if that person is endlessly abusing and hurting him.
Khai: I wanted to murd*r him pretty much for the whole series ?
He was so clueless and selfish and imo he never deserved Third but the heart wants what it wants, so I was glad that he got himself together in the end.
And the ost is one of my favorite songs ever, since I watched the drama this song never left my list.

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I almost dropped after ep 8

I don’t typically write reviews (usually just give it a 10 if I like it and move on) but I feel like I have to explain the rating a bit since it’s so low. I’ve read a few reviews sharing similar sentiments, so I feel more confident putting this into words.
(I only critique the characters, the actors were fantastic) (also fully opinion, I’m not saying you shouldn’t like this show, just saying why I don’t)

Praise:
The cute moments that were sparingly sprinkled throughout really saved this for me.
It had nice closure, and I’m glad we were able to see them post-graduation. I really like to see what happens to characters after the main storyline end; it’s nice to know if they get to follow their dreams.
It’s a well written show and the cinematography in many places just hit the spot. A lot of the time, the blocking of the scene really portrayed the characters and emotions well.

Grievances:
This was a *really* frustrating watch for me, mostly because of the lack of communication. My biggest pet peeve when it comes to any genre of show is bad communication. I felt like the characters weren’t being fully transparent about anything. A lot of the conflicts seemed to be caused by miscommunication and lies. I feel like yeah, that’s real life, but it just seemed like *wayyyyy* too much for a 12 episode show.
Khai was quite the unlikeable character and I feel like his redemption arc wasn’t full enough to make me like him; it seemed to stop once Third accepted him when he still could’ve improved.
And Bone? Oooh I have a bone to pick with Bone. I dislike teacher-student relationships in shows. No exceptions. Even though Bone and Paan never had a relationship, it felt like a romanization of his crush. I feel like his acceptance and moving on from her came wayyyy too late in the show for me to really sympathize with Bone. At first I thought Paan was closer to Bone’s age, but after realizing she was his teacher, I immediately stopped rooting for them. I flat out fast-forwarded through most of their interactions because it was so clear Bone liked Paan, and it gave me the ick.
I feel like Un and Two’s relationship wasn’t fully explained, and it almost seemed like it came out of nowhere, which was really off-putting. I would have liked to see it more explored.
The first half of the show was a real struggle for me to get through; I was mad at the characters 99% of the time. I stopped on it after ep. 8.3 because I was so frustrated with it all.

To reiterate: if you like the show, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t. This is my opinion and I’m not asking you to agree

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Beautiful story and acting, but has some flaws

To make myself clear, I really loved the series and the acting. First let's talk about the good things

1)Acting

Gun was amazing in the first half of the story. He portrayed third and his agony so well. I felt his pain and helplessness. I also felt very torn and angry when Khai played a trick on him to test him. I was broken when he confessed his love in front of the camera. Wow...just wow❤️❤️ Though in the later half, I have to admit, I was quite annoyed with him but that's a different discussion. Off....my oh my...the guy is a genius in portraying an asshole. I wanted to punch him so bad esp when he knew Third's feeling and still kissed him to hurt him. I was extremely angry and wanted to kick him in the balls (that's just the testament to how good he acted) Mike did a good job with this guy in love with a teacher (come on admit it, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure?) I have always loved White since lovesick series but Earth and White's coupling was somehow more interesting and touching to me than really the main couple (sorry am a sucker for side couples)

2) Music

This has to be my Favorite OST after Lovesick/LBC ost, UWNA ost and DBK ost. It was so good. It hit you right on the feels and it was placed in such correct moments that you would tear up because how the music made you feel

3) Different setting

Finally, a series with no engineering or doctor as the background. God, I was getting tired of engg and doctor background. This had a fresh background of film students and the bonding over making the short movies. The different setting made the story a little more interesting esp when Khai started pursuing Third!!

4) Friendship

I was truly happy to see the four guys frdship. It was not the perfect one but it was heart felt. They were supportive, caring and very real. The male bonding other than love was so well depicted not just between White, Mike, Off and Gun but also between Earth and Gun, Gun and the president of drama club, also the president of drama club and Earth. It was so heart warming not cheesy neither exaggerated. Really loved all the male bondings.

5) Character development

One of the things that thai bl lack a lot is properly creating a character arc. But here all the characters had an arc and it was so well depicted. Third had an arc, khai had an arc, Un had an arc, Earth had an arc, Mike had an arc and they were not messy but slowly revealed. I liked how the characters grew and changed as the time went on. Khai's was the biggest development but I particularly liked Un's development as it showed how true feelings can change a person's heart naturally.

Even with all the above great points, there were some really annoying issues as well

1) Third in 2nd half:

I know EVERYONE FELT SORRY for third even I did but people tend to forget that Khai had no idea third was in love with him so his actions were not meant to hurt him except when he did discover the truth and used Praw to hurt Third so that Third would give up. But in the 2nd half third was being plain mean. He knew how khai felt but didn't believed him and was being a complete jerk. Plus, towards the end he became annoying and boring. Sorry it is my personal opinion so don't come at me. I just felt Third just got annoyingly bitchy at the end

2) No time to other plots

When you can't properly give time to other plots then don't put so many plots. I wanted to know more about how White and Earth came to like each other and also how Earth started to like him and how he and Gun became frds. Same for Mike and teacher thing (though I gotta admit, they still managed to do some justice to it) Same for Un and the girl he liked. So many plots but barely any time to fit in all. The director still did much better job than many other dramas but still I felt too many plots were introduced but not well explored


3) Slow first half

This is just nit picking but I felt that till ep 7 the story was TOO SLOW. Third was going on being hurt by Khai and Khai was going on ignoring Third's feeling and round and round it went. I just think that portion could have been shrunk in 4 eps and rather used to show some side characters story development.

That's about all. It was a good drama to watch and enjoy. The first half might feel a bit draggy n painful but please bear it, coz it's worth it. Highly recommended!! Thank you.

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Third needs an intervention

Or maybe a lobotomy. I'm only on ep 5 and I can't stand the way he's mooning over Khai, a slutty guy who gives him absolutely nothing. Less then nothing. What does he see in him? I want to klonk their heads together. Please tell me this gets better... I'm not a drama dropper so I'll watch till the end but I'm not happy about it. And if there's one more scene of Third fully dressed crying in the shower over the biggest asshole in Thailand, I'm gonna lose it

Also, what about the rating? I've seen nothing that makes it have to be NC17. Viki has it behind a code. For why? Does it get spicy later on?

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This series told me "No one will ever love you" in 10 languages.

My theory of love:
THIRD: "If the love is real, it can withstand anything."
KHAI: "My six-word love story: You changed my life. Thank you!"
TWO: "One night I looked up and saw 1000 stars...hello Phupha are you there?!"
BONE: "Paan broke my heart now I'm into guys and hitting on Tine's brother."

"Third,
I've watched as many romantic films as I could. To find out what love is. Instead of finding the answer, I found you in every one of them. Every scene that the lead characters express their love is the same as what you've done for me over the past three years that we've been friends. Now I know love is not beautiful flowers, not luxurious locations, but the sincerity you've given me. If I am to confess my love to you, there's no better way than the sincere way you did for me. If you still think what I've done here is not love, I really don't know what love is to you. I've engraved my name and yours in it. For me, you're not a movie, you're real. Would you be my boyfriend?"

And that's how I died

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It's a rough road

The cast acts very well throughout this series, except for that bike crash scene. That was--That was a travesty. What soap opera invaded my drama? Also, Off was not good at crying or sadness 90% of the time he tried it. Not like Gun, who can bust out the waterworks at the drop of a hat. Other than that, I thought the acting was great and all the actors picked did very well in their roles.

I wanted more P'Un and Two. I've never seen Earth do a tsundere type character before, so this was fascinating and hilarious to me. And Two was adorable once they cleared things up, so excited to finally be together.

I feel bad about it, but I actually got bored of Bone's story before the end. I liked how mature he was about it all, though.

Khai's turn around could've been built up/shown better. He has a pretty much 180 flip there after his big revelation. I did *love* the vivid flashbacks he had while trying to kiss a random woman at that beach bar though, unable to perform even a peck on the cheek because of the memories of what he did to Third.

More smiling Gun, please!

Music gets a 5/10. The same two bits of music played constantly, and none of it was memorable.

Rewatch Value 2/10 - because damn those first episodes made me want to *rend the flesh* from Khai's bones. I wanted to turn him into a meat smoothie and sell him to Sweeney Todd. I wanted to make his insides his outsides. I wanted to peel him like a potato. And I'm not a violent person (despite what that rather graphic imagery suggests).

Not a series I would recommend, because while the series post-Khai realizing he's an asshole was good, that was...that was a lot to put up with, honestly.

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Okay, I stand corrected.

If you saw my updates as I watched this show, you would know... I absolutely hated this show. Lol Not to the point where I wanted to drop it.... But to the point where you could tell I was most likely screaming at my computer screen. Lol

Mind you, I was told the outcome would be worth it and I thought I had called the ending a few episodes in anyway... Let me tell you I'm glad I was told it was worth it and also glad I called it but was still genuinely surprised at how it ended.
I feel like BL has been pretty cut and dry with it being pretty easy to call (I'm not complaining, I don't mind what people call 'Same story, different character') but I feel like Theory of Love (while kinda keeping the same pace) actually threw some curveballs in there. I was not expecting him to fight for his love all the way up to the last episode. I'm so used to it being in the start or middle where they give in and THEN the drama hits. Boyyyyyy the drama just kept hitting with this show. Lol I liked that this ended the way it did. It made me actually care for a character that I hated through 90% of the show... and that doesn't happen often. Once I hate a character, I tend to go to my grave hating them. Lol so this was a nice twist.

I didn't expect to actually like this show and I actually started it out of plain curiosity. I had planned to watch half/one episode then move on to see if there was something better.... as you can tell, mistakes were made and I ended up binge watching the whole damn thing. Lol I regret nothing!! lol

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ToL's concept is really cute and pretty well executed. Does a great work making you empathize with the characters, or react to their behaviour, and the soundtrack is so good. Every episode has the title of a romantic movie, and not only the movie is named or referenced within the episode itself, but they even replicated the posters! ?

With that being said, let's go more in depth.

The representation of the women in this drama is not ideal. They are mostly a screaming crowd or seen more as a prize/object by MCs than anything else. Khai's gfs especially are either arrogant or psychos. That is, unless they are the love interest of one of the other boys. Both Lynn and Paan are smart and kind women, and Praew ends up telling Third the truth in ep 9. Still, not a good picture in general even if it's better than some others bl dramas we have.

CHARACTERS

Let's start from my favourite crybaby.

Third is someone easy to feel close to. He has an unrequited love for his best friend (even if HOW he came to fall for someone who constantly acts like a jerk is a mystery) and while I appreciate how he's super popular too, making it different from the usual "nerdy, 'insignificant' main secretly in love with the popular bff", the fact that he decides to give up on Khai at least once every other episodes but ends up always coming back.
Makes you terribly frustrated in the first half of the drama.
Just see what Khai does to him (and he does to himself) in the first 3 eps:

- EP1 Third buys 2 blackpink concert tickets (for Khai and himself) after Khai tells him how much he wants to go, camping and spending 12k ฿ just to discover that Khai found some on his own and he actually wanted them to be able to go with the girl of the moment.

- EP1 Khai suggests to go see a movie but later cancels saying that he has a family dinner. Third then bumps into him with a girl at the mall

- EP1 (Yes, STILL) Khai tells Third to give back to Milk her stuff, Third even defends him with her, before throwing her stuff away as Khai said. That is before they go back together and Khai tells him to go find Milk's stuff in the garbage and when Third comes back defeated and dirty for something he shouldn't even be doing in the first place, Khai only asks him "Are you sure everything's there? " and proceeds to close the door completely ignoring Third.

- EP3 Sexiled. Do we really have to talk about how Khai tells Third to go out so that he can do his stuff with the new girl and leaves him out FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT, unapologetic and completely unfazed?

So yes, you're both hurting for him and praying for him to just move on.


Khai, on the other hand, is obviously created to make you hate him with all you have for the entire first half of the drama.
He's a SHITTY friend to Third. Doesn't seem to care at all about him or his feelings. He sometimes randomly acts like a semi-decent person And that makes you even angrier, because it has on Third the same effect of a kidnapper showing basic human behaviour, like giving you food and water so you don't die on them. Third is grateful and hopeful and goes back to him again.
2 examples of this are when in ep2 he offers Third to go live with him - when and ONLY WHEN he sees there's no other solution. And let's remember Third is supposedly his best friend. And in ep 3 when he tells Third the iconic "With girls, I use my body. With you, I use my heart".
And it should be romantic, right?
WRONG.

Up untill this moment Khai almost NEVER shows any sign to even just respect Third as a human being, let alone his best friend. These words are not supported by facts and my only reaction was frustration because I knew Third would, Once again, refrain from moving on and go back to him.

BUT

Character development is a blessing and the second half of the drama shifts prospective, letting you see what changes Khai goes through.
Ngl, the change itself is a bit too sudden. I'm willing to believe that missing Third completely all of a sudden acted as a waking up call for him, but it's not really coherent with his character.

Nonetheless he starts working hard to make things better and becomes a better person. So much that you will feel bad for him against your own will.

Bone and Two are both good friends and good people in general. I'll talk about them again when analyzing the relationships, but I really appreciated both, especially Two who is funny, cute and helps Third a lot.
Also I'm whipped for White since Love Sick so there's that lol

RELATIONSHIPS

• KhaiThird

As I said, the start of their relationship is far from being the best. Khai is not even a good friend, let alone a good potential partner. Third clinging to anything remotely decent Khai says or does for him attests for how toxic the relationship is.
It starts like a mostly unilateral friendship on Third's side.
Khai comes up with 3 plans during the drama. I call them the "Jerk Plan", the "Oh-So-Stupid Plan" and the "Desperate Plan".
The Jerk Plan is "on" during the entire ep 4.
At the end of the episode you find out - disappointed but not surprised - that he was just testing Third to see if he had feelings for Khai.
Third's reaction is finally on point.
Right after that, at the end of ep 5 and for all ep 6, we see in action the "Oh-So-Stupid Plan" in which we find another pearl when Khai asks Third to be back being friends "like before" (So with you treating him like garbage? No, thanks) and then proceeds to finally treat Third good, only to fake being drunk and kiss him while calling a girl's name.
That hurts so much.

This genius plan is supposed to let Third move on and go back being just friends. Predictably the only result is Third disappearing for good.

The "Desperate Plan" consists in Khai going thru the list of his defects Third made and try to fix them all. It doesn't really work, but both we and Third appreciate the effort lol.

• TwoAun

For both the secondary couples, I appreciate the time and space they get. They are not rushed nor left without a conclusion unlike a lot of other dramas!

Two is a good character and the way his feelings for Aun change is well builded. Appreciate a lot his incapacity to lie and go behind Lynn's back. When he starts realizing he has feelings for Aun it's immediately obvious and the 2 of them TALK and even decide to remain friends. Healthy relationship and mature characters right there, people!
The way Aun appears at the beach in the last ep is a bit random, not gonna lie, but it's still a sweet moment, and Aun himself has the space needed to let the us know him and his story.

• BonePaan

Bone is the only one in the group who has a "sad" ending (even if he does get a girl at the end, just not "the" girl).
I'll be sincere and say that I mostly went thru his parts at 2x speed, I wasn't really engaged. But there are a couple of things I especially appreciated in his story.

He had the chance to take advantage of Paan and his fiancè' problems, but he choose to help them instead and since the moment he found out she was engaged, he's always been respectful of her and her relationship. Even if it meant give up on his love interest. I appreciate both the character and this choice to no end.

EXTRA

I can't NOT mention a few things before the end.

• THINGS MEH

- Checking Third's phone to find out what his relationship with Aun was. That's really not okay to do.

- Khai kissing Third in ep 8
That happens while Third is sleeping, and I really wish dramas could STOP with this trope. It's not romantic, it's not cute. It's forcing themselves on someone who is defenseless at the moment, which is creepy and NOT OKAY. Third's reaction to it is only justified and I'm glad he reacted that way!

• FUNNY THINGS

- I know it's supposed to be a sad moment, but every time Third cries in the shower has me cracking

- When Khai had an accident and Third heard his name called.
Eye just.... I'm sorry but that's just too much

- Love confession sketches ep 2
They were really cute and funny, so they deserve a special mention!

• THINGS I ESPECIALLY APPRECIATED

- Khai's friend.
I appreciate him suggesting Khai to take his time and understand well his feelings for Third before take any action. ??

- "Tell this story to the audience"
I find the whole conversation Third has with his P' at school really inspiring.
Often we stop ourselves from doing something, thinking what we want to do or talk/write about ecc might not be interesting. But in reality, we just need to be ourselves, that's good enough. People will resonate with our story and our passion.

- Final Love Confession.
I just like it a lot.

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Not Worth the Hype.

Another "oops I fell in love with my bestfriend!" series? Yes. But where are the friends?

Be warned we spend the first half of this series just watching our main protagonist be heartbroken over his unrequited love, and at the end of this series we are left still asking, "why are they together?" What is most vexing about this series is that there is never any rationale given to us as to why our Third likes Kai so much, or even at all. It's like the series just decided to build the entire first half around why Kai sucks and entirely neglects why we should even root for Kai and Third to be together. Overall, this series feels really forced and the writers have no knack for romance or the development of story.

The MLM couples have zero chemistry all throughout the series, and the only "couple" who had any chemistry whatsoever doesn't get together.

This series is a waste of time.

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It's emotionally taxing, but one of the best takes on BL in the industry.

I'll be very honest here. This one is emotionally taxing to watch. You might feel annoyed and frustrated with the characters and the storyline and how it seems so out of place with how cruel it can be toward any character, it might even be called 'toxic' in the first few episodes- a toxic friendship , but once you go on and watch the rest, one thing is for sure. [[[It might contain slight (nothing major from the storyline) spoilers. ]]]
That is, the more you want a particular character to get hurt, the more you feel bad inside and just want it to be over. One of the reasons why it's so emotionally exhausting. Also, what I truly believe is that Love is not about "redemption" or "vengeance". It's about feelings. And no matter how much you use your brain to weigh the situations, you canNOT ignore your feelings. No matter how much you're hurt, no matter how much you see the characters getting hurt, you won't feel any better until they finally have a good time together. So what I would say is to watch this while keeping all of this in mind. And at the same time, know that this story is about something so abstract that even the wisest of people won't be able to interpret it correctly. It's pure Love. Blooming from friendship - a toxic friendship.

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Weird title but good drama

The earlier drama of Off-Gun. Let’s watch this….

Tell the story of 4 friends, but 3 kinds of love stories. All of them are students of filmology major and a member of the Savage Team, a team of students that do the school task with their own speciality. Third as the director & screenwriter, Khai as the sound guy, Two as the photographer & Bone as the editing guy. All of them are the top tier students that every girl has a crush on.

1st, Third & Khai.
Tell the story about Third who is secretly in love with his own best friend, Khai. Khai is a straight guy, who changes his girlfriend like he changes his clothes. Third, endure 3 years of friendship with Khai, seeing him flirting with many girls in front of his eyes. After 3 years, finally Third decided to snap out of his dream. But as people always said, talk is easier than action. Because although as easy as it is to fall in love, to stop is just as hard. And everytime Third wanted to give up his feelings for Khai, Khai did something sweet to him & made his heart flutter again. That is until one day Third learns a secret that breaks his heart completely.

But ironically when Third decides to stop his feelings & continue with his own life, Khai on the other hand just realizes his own feelings for Third and decides to start chasing Third. What will their relationship become…?

2nd, Two.
Two is a photographer guy that catches many girls' attention with his skill that makes the girl he takes pictures prettier. But it turns out, Two has a long crush with his high school friend, Lynn. But unfortunately, Lynn also has a long relationship with her boyfriend. One day, Two and Lynn meet again when Lynn becomes a model for Two’s photography class. And after that they start communicating again. One day, Two opportunities came when Lynn & her boyfriend broke up. But on the other hand, Two’s eyes also start to catch one senior that’s showing more attention to him. Who will Two choose in the end, Lynn or the senior…?

3rd, Bone.
Bone likes to flirt with a girl too, but unlike Khai, he's not a player. Bone work in the coffee shop. One day, he met Paan, when he's about to close the shop. But because he doesn't have her contract info, he waits for her everyday in the shop, until he even forgets about his classes & study. Because he never went to class, the new teacher almost failed him, but luckily Two warned him so that day Bone went to class just to find…. The woman in his dream, Paan, teaches the class. So what will happen with Bone & his teacher? Will he win Paan’s heart?

That's pretty much about the story without giving too many spoilers. Now what I like & don't like.

What I like:
+ The reality of Third and Khai relationships that most of us can rely on. Many of us are also that's stupid when it comes to love. And the cure is only one, get the hell away from that person & give urself activity to distract urself at first. And I love when Third really decided to give up, he makes himself busy.
+ U get to witness First hand Karma is b*tch. Haha… When it is time for Khai to chase after Third, he gets his own taste of karma….
+ How Khai really repents himself for Third. Sometimes I don't really believe the story of a playboy who changes himself for someone. But seeing Khai's effort really sincere.
+ The friendship between 4 of them. Especially when Bone & Two decided to side with Third instead of Khai…
+ It just doesn't ending with them graduation, hut a little peek about them in the work place & still as a team
+ No over the top s*x scene. Just some kiss here & there, even when they all already with their partner

What I don't too like:
- Seeing Third as a stupid man. But Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat is really one good actor, he can make us feel how painful Third is.

Overall this is a good drama to watch.

Below I'll write what I quite like and don't, but with SPOILER ALERT!!! So read it at your own risk!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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+ Bone is really one good guy. He does the right thing with Paan & her boyfriend
+ In this drama we get to see, not all first love / long crush comes fruitful. And I also love the fact that Two is quite honest with Lynn when his feelings change. Although it's also quite pain to see Lynn when she's once again being betrayed by man who said he love her.
+ The funny thing about old drama, we can see one actor with another couple, not with their current ship/couple, that actually kinda surprised me with Thai BL. Of course I talk about Earth Pirapat Watthanasetsiri, seeing him doesn't partner up with Mix Sahaphap Wongratch quite catch me off guard.

- The bullshit accident. When someone crash that bad like Khai, it's kinda impossible to walk. Yet alone he can reach Third place. Yeah although i don't know how fat & how adrenaline can pump ur energy. Still BS thing

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