Love in the Air

Relatively Angst Free Love Story

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Student): Rain and Sky
T (Owner): Payu and Pai

- Beginning (Story 1 Episode 1-7): Payu and Rain. B is a student and when his car breaks down in the rain, he meets T who is an autoshop owner. T is older and likes to tease B, annoying the latter to no end. Deciding to get revenge, B tells T that he was going to make him fall in love with him within the month.

- Middle (Story 1 Episode 1-7): In order to make him fall in love, B starts spending more and more time with T and realizes that he has many good qualities.

- End (Story 1 Episode 1-7): At the end, B realizes that he had fallen for T and confesses. The story ends with them happily dating.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- The actors playing B and T. Their chemistry was amazing and their interactions were cute and sweet. They also do a great job in portraying the affection between the characters.
- I really like the foreplay/flirting. B's reactions are very cute as well, trying to not to show just how attracted he really is.
- The characters are very likeable despite each having their own flaws.
- The writing is okay. The story flows well despite the plot being very weak as all the attention is put on the development of their relationship.
- I really like the intimate scenes as they are the realest I have seen in BL as of yet. The actors did a great job portraying the lust and affection in the air.
- I really like the enemies to lovers trope. Sure this plot falls in to the usual formula for such TV shows and is very predictable, it is still very nice to watch.
- I like how B at the end of the show is more confident both in life and in sex.
- I like how fast the pace is, meaning it has little time for useless and cliche conflict. There aren't relationship breaking angst. It is quite fluffy overall.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- Acting is okay most of the time but sometimes it can get a little bit exagerated, such as times when the characters speaks to themselves, which can seem a little unatural. In addition, reactions can get a little fake as well.
- Plot as a whole is ok but there aren’t any plot twists or memorable moments.

**Conclusion**
An OK watch but probably won’t be revisiting as a whole but will be revisiting specific scenes.
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**Brief Synopsis**

- Beginning (Story 2 Episode 8-13): Sky and Prapai. B is the previous story's B's friend and roommate. He is extremely defensive regarding relationships because he has severe emotional trauma from a past abusive boyfriend. T is an executive at a big company and meets B at the racetrack. B trespassed and T finds him, telling him if he wants to leave, he'll have to sleep with him. How non con this part is is uncertain because I feel T would have let him go if he refused passionately as the offer looked more like flirting then a threat. No matter the reason, B seems a little upset after sleeping with him but doesn't look traumatized at all. T on the other hand really likes B and would like to extend their relationship, something B is not willing to do.

- Middle (Story 2 Episode 8-13): T starts pursuing B by sending him gifts, flowers, appearing in his vicinity and trying to get B to spend time with him. As they spend more time together, B's attitude changes. He starts smiling more genuinly around T and is genuinly grateful and touched when T takes leave from work to take care of him while he was sick. Their relationship develops rather smoothly despite B's insecurities until T brings B to a party and B realizes just how different he is actually from T's other friends and freaks out. It is revealed that B's ex boyfriend also forced him to do things he wasn't comfortable with and when he resisted, the guy found him boring, called him names and dumped him. Even if by that time, B was in love with T, he's afraid T will dump him after he gets bored so decides to dump him first. T doesn't give up and goes to B's apartment looking for answers. He sees B's diary confessing love for him. B comes back and T confronts him. B confesses just what had been going on in his head and apologizes. T forgives him.

- End (Story 2 Episode 8-13): At the end, they reconcile and spend some very happy times together. In my opinion, the story could have ended here because episode 13 doesn't add much except to make B experience his trauma again. B is found and assaulted by his ex. He is saved of course, but is once again reminded of his trauma. T stays with him and consoles him. The story ends with them being sappy and in love.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- The actors playing B and T. Their chemistry was amazing and their interactions were cute and sweet. They also do a great job in portraying the affection between the characters.
- I really like the foreplay/flirting. I like seeing B's change over time. I also like seeing T becoming more mature in order to take care of B.
- The characters are very likeable despite each having their own flaws.
- The writing is okay. The story flows well despite the plot being very weak as all the attention is put on the development of their relationship.
- I really like the intimate scenes as they are the realest I have seen in BL as of yet. The actors did a great job portraying the lust and affection in the air.
- I like how fast the pace is, meaning it has little time for useless and cliche conflict. There aren't relationship breaking angst. It is quite fluffy overall (other then the angst when B breaks up with T but I feel this is necessary to force B to confront his trauma, overcome it so he can be happy with T).
- I like the concept (霸道总裁爱上我) and although it is cliche and predictable, I liked how T pursues B. The scenes where T consoles B in his time of need are very heartwarming and make you understand just how much T actually cares of B.
- I really like how the actors look together. They are very good looking.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- Acting is okay most of the time but sometimes it can get a little bit exagerated, such as times when the characters speaks to themselves, which can seem a little unatural. In addition, reactions can get a little fake as well.
- Plot as a whole is ok but there aren’t any plot twists or memorable moments. The plot mainly revolves around their relationship so if you are looking for more, the plot is really weak.
- I really didn't like the 13th episode. I feel it wasn't needed and doesn't serve other purpose then adding a rather triggering scene. I pretend that the show ends in episode 12 after they have reconciled.

**Conclusion**
An OK watch but probably won’t be revisiting as a whole but will be revisiting specific scenes.

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Enthralled with Payu and Rain

Rhe actors who played Rain and Payu were a perfect fit. They both draw me into their story easily. the sexiness of them together come through the screen.

mThe innocence and the love that is shared between the couples was mesmerizing. The voice and intonations of their language was pleasant and that is what actually drew me to the actors in the first place. Being from the US I watch with subtitles and have to hear the voices of the actors va English voice dubbed. It makes it more real and able to get into the story easier.

The only difficult part of the storyline was the abuse, but also realized the their are only so many episodes and need to get things done. I also wish Sky could have had some tears going in those crucial parts. The facial expression showed distress but it would have sold better with tears.

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Best BL Drama

I recently binge-watched several ISTG Thai dramas, and I have to say, they have completely captured my heart! The storytelling is absolutely captivating, and the way the characters are developed is fantastic. What really strikes me is how everything feels so realistic. The emotions portrayed by the actors are raw and genuine, making it easy to relate to their experiences and struggles.

Moreover, the cute moments sprinkled throughout each episode are just delightful. Whether it's a lighthearted banter between friends or a sweet romantic gesture, it adds a layer of charm that makes the viewing experience even more enjoyable. The chemistry between the characters feels authentic, which is a testament to excellent writing and acting.

I find myself often wondering how they manage to strike such a balance between realism and cuteness. It’s like they have mastered the art of storytelling in a way that resonates with so many viewers. Overall, ISTG Thai dramas have a unique quality that keeps me coming back for more, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

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Mame Anti-fans Need To Skip This

If you're a fan of TharnType or Love by Chance and enjoy bashing Mame as a fictional writer, honestly, please get some help because it just seems hypocritical. And if you're an anti-fan of Mame, then simply don't watch any of her series. No one is forcing you to watch any her work. Stop treating her as if she’s a criminal who commits these acts. She’s not the first fictional write of this type of literature nor will she be the last. Get over your savior complex.

This series is a blend of gay drama and BL, telling two intertwined stories. Payu and Prapai are friends who share a passion for motorcycle drag racing, while Rain and Sky are architecture students at the same school. Payu becomes Rain's senior mentor, and Prapai saves Sky from a troubling incident involving illegal drag racing. What makes this a BL is that Rain was initially interested in Ple, a female classmate before falling for Payu.

The first part focuses on the BL between Payu and Rain. Payu, a successful architect, falls for Rain during a student orientation meet. After a chance encounter in the rain, Payu sets out to pursue Rain. The storyline follows their courtship and how Rain eventually falls for Payu.

In the second part, the focus is on Prapai, who falls hard for Sky, a person with post-traumatic issues from a toxic relationship. This part is a gut-wrenching gay drama that shows how Prapai helps Sky overcome his trauma and learn to love again.

Some viewers didn't like the series split into two parts, but personally, I like it for that reason. It is based on two novels, and each part provides enough scenes to connect the two stories without overshadowing each other. This avoids the issue that many BL fans complain about, where side couples don't get enough attention compared to the main couple.

There were some complaints about making the series into two, but I disagree. The storytelling was just right without dragging it with unnecessary fillers, and the special episode was a nice bonus.

Overall, this series is worth watching because the intimate scenes are not gratuitous, and it presents a more realistic approach to sex BL than a couple who still act like virgins after being in a long term relationship.

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Love, Racing, and Missed Potential

First of all, I started this series with the hope of finding some fresh air in this genre. Unfortunately, I quickly became bored by the lack of plot in the first few episodes. Despite this, I decided to give it another chance and trust the process. Having now finished the series, I can say that, in my opinion, it fell short in a few areas.

There is a lack of plot in this series, and I wish they would have given more screentime to some side characters. I would have loved to learn more about Pai's siblings or their other friends, but we rarely saw them, and they added nothing to the plot. The way their love stories develop seems way too fast, and I would have enjoyed some more push and pull between them, especially for Rain and Payu. As for the second couple, Sky and Pai, I appreciated the efforts made to make their relationship as healthy as it could be.

I'm not afraid of stories that deal with sensitive topics, and I'm able to enjoy them if they are executed correctly.
In the case of this series, it all felt a little rushed, and it brushed off important issues that could have added so much more to the story and left a bigger impact on the viewers.

Also, there are not enough racing scenes! The story circles around the organized racing events, but the scenes where we actually see the characters race are limited.

Overall, this series had some really enjoyable moments that made me laugh and sometimes feel for the characters. Although the writing is questionable at times and cringeworthy at others, it left me wanting for more.

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A series I don't like

let's start with a general comment and then I'll be more detailed.
There are things I like. Firstly both the tops ride bikes. A big fan of motocycles like me will appreciate the environment that surrounds the story as well as the age gap between tops and bottoms. Also, I have to admit both the tops are just so fine, especially Payu. He is so cool not just handsome, he's an architect and a mechanic, I am so into him for these aspects. Secondly, I always like it when two couples of friends end up mixing, and the fact that their names recall the title is kinda cute.
What a bummer! Unfortunately, the two stories are separated. I can not understand why it was decided to structure the series this way. This error is crucial for me, the series would have been another thing with a mix. Not only this choice damages the cohesion of the whole show, but it also points out the gap of material between the first (payu and rain) and the second couple (pai and sky). Also, the editing is at times confusing, with weird cuts and scenes disjointed, unconnected with the rest of the show's previous or next scene. Sometimes when they kiss there's a gap, for a changing of scenario I feel a little lost like there's again a gap of time or there's no connection and the scene seems brutally cut. I can also hear the microphones sometimes. I find this not professional and it bothers me.
Let's talk about the first couple.
There is no plot. I can not see a story. Why are the characters even interacting with each other ? The reason is futile, nonsense like their first kiss. It is shown by the lack of material, it's clear that there is nothing to say. Some scenes are repeated, whole scenes. I don't like that. Also, Payu is not a green flag. Although I've said he's hot, he doesn't treat Rain correctly in my opinion and I am talking about harassment, two times (little reminder: MAME is the author of the novel). And Rain is an empty character, there is nothing to say about him. I particularly liked a scene though (ep 6 3/4), a kiss after a race, before and after that. Really good, fantastic I have to admit.
Let's talk about the second couple.
Again, they should be considered the main couple in my opinion, there is a plot, there are things to film and you can see it from the length of the episodes and lack of repetitions. I particularly enjoyed their first sex scene, I find it cool. There is a profound key theme here: Sky's trauma. Pai is a gentleman, although sometimes seems a stalker, there is just a tiny line in between. I have to admit I don't like how Sky is so attached to Pai at the end, I feel like Pai instigates this behaviour too. It is an emotional addition that wasn’t dealt with properly, sending another harmful message: that love can heal you from trauma. It can’t, therapy can.

Thank you for reading <3

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This was a rollercoaster (medium rare spoilers)

This was my first Thai drama and, jumping into it, I genuinely hadn't had a clue what to expect of it. In the end, it gave a very k-drama vibes, which I was used to at that point, so I decided to continue watching it. In order for this review to make any sense at all, I have to separate the two stories which this series covers, though they are fairly intertwined. Actually, let me just mention that I really haven't seen the idea of taking two couples and intertwining their stories like this before and I must say that I quite liked it. Usually, we would follow a main couple, and then some side characters would get a romance, too, but the story would scarcely focus on them. This was not the case here and I loved it! Now, onto the two stories.

I love the trope of a bimbo "cutiepie" and a caring "bad boy" bumping into each other (not literally in this case, but still) and the first couple did the trope pretty well. At first, Payu may seem like he would be a walking red flag, but he's actually very sweet and cares for Rain. Rain is so dumb and I laughed hard at every scene he had. Payu is also involved with some mafia guys, which introduces turmoil in their relationship, but I think it's handled really well. I hadn't had any particular issues with this couple in particular (well, except for my personal distaste for smut scenes, but, oh well), and if this series focused only on them I would have loved it.

Now that sentence might contradict what I said earlier about intertwining stories of two couples, but it doesn't. While I liked the idea of it, it can only work if I enjoy both the couples, and I definitely did not enjoy the second one. Prapai and Sky as characters were great. Their romance, and the story, was far from it. One of the biggest pet peeves I have when it comes to romance stories are the miscommunication plot points. It is SO TIRED at this point, and I really cannot consume it no more. The only thing that are more played out than that are coming out stories, which I just skip entirely. You cannot tell me that a person which knows they're being loved, or ADORED, by other person would CHOOSE to keep their attraction to themselves? It is so unreasonable to me that I simply cannot relate. I believe the screenwriters probably wanted to make a comment about juggling past trauma in a new relationship, but I don't think they've done a good job there. Prapai was literally bending at every possible angle to ensure Sky was being taken care of only for Sky to keep to himself even though he obviously love him? Please... I get that trauma is difficult to handle in general, but it wasn't as prominent in any other part of his life except for the relationship, which I find hard to believe. Also, the trauma itself and the events at the second part of their story was so shocking and abruptly shown without proper foreshadowing that it nearly left me traumatised. It was just poor writing that ruined what could've been an amazing romance with commentary on PTSD and how a healthy relationship can help one move on from it.

Another prominent problem that I had with this series is the acting. It was so over the top and at certain points I thought they are camping it up on purpose. However, this was clearly not a parody, so I just couldn't forgive it. I'll say that Payu's actor probably did the best job out of the whole cast, or at the very least, it was palatable in comparison to the other actors (main and side ones!).

Overall: Even though I discussed most of the negative sides of my experience watching this show, I would still recommend BL fans to watch it. If you cannot stomach certain things, I'd say sticking to the first couple's storyline and dropping before the second one starts developing will probably yield the best viewing experience. I would rewatch the first half of this series for sure.

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If You Like Steamy Scenes...

.....oh does this show have them lol.

This may be the most realistic love scenes I have seen in a BL, rivaling KinnPorsche and Plus&Minus, but steamier! lol
I was actually looking through my fingers a few times because I legit couldn't believe what I was seeing and felt like I wasn't supposed to be seeing it.

To that point, the main actors really did a great job in this. There were a lot of heavy scenes and draining emotions. And for the most part it was all very believable. (Especially all that racy love-making, I mean, can't stress that enough lmao). I also like how the relationships were actually developed. There weren't strange time jumps or unexplained switches in emotions. The storyline made sense.

I don't remember much of the music which suggests to me that it was good enough. Nothing stood out negatively, but nothing stood out as great either.

I also like the way a lot of the scenes were shot. There were some lovely scenes. Rain and Payu had a lot of comedic moments that were adorable. Sky and Prapai on the other hand was a much more traumatic storyline. I admit I wasn't a fan of some of it, but also that doesn't mean it wasn't good. These stories do need to be told from time to time because they really do happen. I just was disappointed after the warm feelings from Rain and Payu. Sky and Prapai's story left me kind of down even though it was a "happy ending"

Either way, there were many moments/episodes where I ended up rewatching because they were too good. So all in all, this was a good BL. I would have to say somewhere in my top BLs.

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Formulaic and a Little Problematic but the Cast Serves

Despite the hollow and formulaic storyline, lousy editing, lazy sound mixing and other technical details, Love in the Air is is elevated by its extremely charming leads. It may not offer anything new but the sparks between the cast is something to witness.

CAST: I have no complaints when it comes to the casting. I think the 4 leads look very good together, they match very well and they're all very pleasing to look at. They also look very committed to the role as well as carrying out mature scenes, which I appreciate a lot as a viewer, because nobody wants to watch a half-assed awkward sex scene. But they pull it off so very well.

STORYLINE: The storyline I'm a little iffy about because if you think about it, they don't really have a lot of things going on. They went to a race track, met bad boys, they got pursued, and that's it. There's really not that much potential for substance. There is a little bit of character development but you barely notice it. Some of the scenes, I find it problematic, especially when it concerns matters of personal space, consent and decency (Payu suggesting sex with Rain after saving him, same thing with Pai and Sky.) It almost felt like that behavior was being normalized which I'm completely against of.

MUSIC/EDITING: The music and sound editing on this series is just a big big mess. The editing was so lazy that the sounds don't even have any coherence with each other whatsoever. It's like the sound mixer just created a playlist and hope for the best. Literally any novice can edit the sound much better, even I can. Makes you wonder if they are aware of this and they just choose to ignore it or they really intended it that way, in which case, it's a terrible choice on their part. The scoring is a mess, it frustrates me to no end when I don't think it's complicated to mix the score well to the scenes. Sometimes their choices of background music does not match the scene at all and it's very awkward to look at.

ACTING: For the acting, Boss doesn't have a lot of material to work on but I think he did very well for the fuckboy mechanic role he was given. For Nouel, he has a bit more material to work on than Boss and I feel like his acting on most parts could've been done with finesse or a little polishing. His emotional acting isn't quite as polished or convincing yet. For Fort, there's also not a lot of range for him to work on, but for the scenes and material he was given, he did very well to portray the annoying fuckboy racer Prapai. He does moderately well on some emotional scenes too, however, his acting, most times, feels like he's coddling Peat. For Peat, he has the most emotional scenes to work on, for the most part he delivers, my only complaint is that he looks childish when he carries out some of the emotional scenes. He also does this pouty thing with his mouth that irks me for some reason.

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One of the best intimate BLs

*happy ending for both couples*

The story for me is kinda mediocre. However, it is carried by great expressive actors which I like. Mame, the writer/author, really has that theme of over-violence in her story which sometimes is too forced? I think the adding of kidnapping in PayuRain's case is just to add a kind of conflict to the already happy couple, but it made it quite awkward for me.

Prapai/Sky's story on the other hand (Sky's traumatic past), made the story flow with more sense. However, I felt that the quality of the production in their part of the season became more subpar than RainPayu one. Which I kinda felt sad about because the second story makes more sense to me.

I like the NC scenes though in the first one. They really feel so in love and there is no awkwardness, which for me is still quite rare in the industry. That kind of sexual compatibility.

Overall, I think the series is okay. Much kinda like Cutie Pie the series for me. Something I will rewatch in passing, but not because I love it overall. I still recommend readers to watch it though.

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