love in the air the series

THE BEST INTIMACY shown in a BL series with the most realistic portray of sex

I have never written a review before, but I had to lớn vì thế ví after seeing how unreasonably harsh people were with this show. Yes, it is based on Mame's novels, but it actually brings out the best in them and improves upon them. She’s also not a screenwriter for LITA, ví the series has a different feeling from her previous works. It's a rare gem with a beautiful cinematography and great acting and it's sad to lớn see people skipping it because of the other reviews.

First of all, let u get something straight. This series is not an all green flags show. There are definitely some questionable moments, ví if you're looking for a fluffy series with a perfectly healthy relashionship, this series is not for you. HOWEVER, both of the relationships portrayed in LITA only start out questionably, later on they develop into quite healthy and well communicated ones. Many people even Gọi Pai as a walking green flag. There is also a speculated hidden dynamic in Payu’s and Rain’s relationship that would explain most of ther “toxic” moments.

Now, when reading OTHER REVIEWS and seeing this:
"TW: (non-consensual touching, homophobia, manipulation, mind games, s*a*, torture)", you’d really think LITA is some kind of twisted show. But this is where the overreaction, too harsh of a criticism and Mame's hatewagon come in play, because:

IN REALITY:
- (mind games, s*a*, torture) refer to lớn Sky’s past. There are some flashbacks and difficult scenes in ep 13, but that’s it.
- (homophobia) refers to lớn a comment / question made by Rain in the first episode, it happened just this once and Rain regrets saying it instantly
- (non-consensual touching) yes, this one is valid.
Still, let’s clarify it a bit - it obviously refers to lớn Sky's past (as most of the brutal and horrible tags do). It also refers to lớn some actions attemted by Payu to lớn Rain, but he never actually does anything in the kết thúc. It refers to lớn a scene where he's sniffing / butterfly kissing Rain's neck (not really touching him) and also a scene where he tries to lớn sleep with Rain (so non consensual kissing of his neck), but doesn't after Rain refuses him (though Rain has to lớn say it lượt thích 4 times).

Compared to lớn what is normalized and shown in the BL industry today though, it’s laughable that it's LITA that got tagged as 'The toxic show' out of all of them. Yes, there is an obvious dose of toxicity there, but the biggest shows have all done ví much worse in terms of consent, lượt thích Cutie Pie - taking advantage of a drunk person, Tharn Type - forcing yourself on somebody, Kinn Porsche - taking advantage of a drugged person, torture and ví much more. Even shows that have aired recently have done much more, lượt thích Big Dragon - taking advantage of a drugged person, Ai Long Nhai - taking advantage of a drunk person, etc. And people don’t say nearly as much about them.

I would actually argue, that apart from the scenes mentioned above and some problematic tropes, this show does a solid job at showing us healthy relationships. We can see it the clear communication, mutual respect and also in the way they interact with each others, which brings u to:

WHY I ADORE THIS SHOW SO MUCH
This series really portrays the most realistic intimacy and sex between partners. And I’m not only talking about the NC scenes, I’m talking about the CASUALITY OF KISSES AND TOUCHES. There is no slow motion and ten different angles for a little peck. There are hugs, pecks, kisses and butt slaps, all given casually, as it should be between partners in a relationship. And when it comes to lớn the NC scenes, they not only portray lust, but also the intimacy and love that real couples have. We can see that both parties want it - there is no 'bottom who endures sex', both people want it and enjoy it equally.

In an interview, quái thú (who plays Payu) explained that he had asked Neoul (who plays Rain) how deep (when portraying emotions) can they go in the intimate scenes, to lớn which Neoul responded with “as deep as possible”. quái thú also mentioned that they wanted to lớn portay LOVE THROUGH SEX , and that’s exactly what they did. Pai and Sky did an amazing job too. And yes, their scenes didn’t have the same kind of loving and a bit kinky intimacy as Payu and Rain, but their realshionship was also based on completly different emotions which were portrayed very well during their intimate scenes (which were wild at times).

THE PLOT
Some people say that there is no clear plot in this series, but that couldn't be more wrong. It's just that the plot is focused mostly on the development of the relationships, the plot is the relationships. Another storyline throughout this whole show is the student life. I really love that it’s taken seriously and there are actual reprocussions for failing an exam / doing badly at school for the characters. All students know that going to lớn uni is sometimes more taxing kêu ca a full time job, especially when studying something lượt thích architecture. For Payu and Rain there is also the subplot of xe đạp racing, for Pai and Sky there is the subplot of mental healing and trauma. But the main plot is the couples' relationship developmnet, which may not be everybody's cup of tea.

Xem thêm: tayo the little bus

THE STORY OF PAYU AND RAIN (ep 1-7) starts out kinda questionably lượt thích I already explained, but progresses into something amazing and sweet. I especially love the character development of Rain, who gets progressively more serious and responsible about his schoolwork and confident in his relationship and needs. I love how he strats teasing Payu back and expresses his own needs for intimacy (he’s not afraid to lớn initiate the touches / kisses) and I love how patient Payu is with him. And can we talk about how this show lets Rain discover his kink and actually acknowledges it (especially in the special episode)? It's done ví casually and there is no weirdness about it, it just becomes a part of their relationship. The characters can feel a bit unreal sometimes (Rain is sweet, but kinda cartoonish at times and Payu is a bit too perfect), but it doesn't take away from the rawness and realness of their relationship.

There is a suggestion that Payu and Rain have a Dom / Sub dynamic. It was brought to lớn light by people from the scene, who said that it’s very easy to lớn recognize once you are in the know. To u it makes a perfect sense and adds a lot more depth to lớn their relationship. It’s shown in some obvious and many subtle ways (like Payu saying things lượt thích “Answer me”, “Sit still”, the constant conversation around rewards and punishment, etc.) and it shows their early “toxic moments” from a different perspective. If you are interested to lớn know more, please read my reply to lớn Meca’s comment under this review, it’s explained in details (it contains spoilers, ví beware).

THE STORY OF SKY AND PAI (ep 7 - 13) is a story of healing. We've got a flamboyant CEO Pai and a sassy but traumatised Sky, which creates an interesting dynamic. Although their first meeting is questionable and Pai turns into a lowkey stalker for a bit, when he sees Sky for who he truly is later on, he turns into the biggest walking green flag ever. The way Pai's always there for Sky, being patient with him and honestly just being happy seeing him and being with him is beautiful - as is seeing him, the playboy he is, putting Sky's need for intimacy (or lack of) before his own. We can also see how Sky slowly opens up and doesn’t see sex (or himself for that matter) as dirty anymore. I appreciate the clear communication after a misunderstanding and how Pai always double checks before doing anything with Sky, just to lớn be super sure.

Both couples turned out to lớn be different in the kết thúc, in a good way. Rain and Payu are the sweet, loving, but kinky daddy / baby dynamic couple, who have the most scorchingly intimate but also sweet sex. Sky and Pai are the couple who are careful to lớn double kiểm tra consent and communicate things through, but also have a high sex drive and thus kết thúc up having the wildest sex with Sky being an obvious power bottom.

OTHER THINGS I LOVED:
- The show is fast paced (because it squeezes 2 books into 1 series), but that makes it perfect. There are no unnecesary conflicts just to lớn drag it out. It’s a fairly straightforward and nice watch.

- The ACTING. Although sometimes there were shortcomings, you would never have know that all of the 4 main actors are rookies. They did a truly fantasctic job portraying the characters.

- The cinematography is simply BEAUTIFUL.

- The SPECIAL EPISODE is a cheffs kiss, please watch it if you haven’t yet.

- The breaking of the stereotypes when it comes to lớn sex and portray of intimacy.

- The comedic duo that Sky and Rain are, their dynamic is super đáng yêu and funny as best friends.

THINGS THAT COULD USE IMPROVEMENT:
- The sound editing, it just wasn’t right sometimes. The loudness of the music was weird at places.

- The last episode felt a bit rushed, though the special episode definitely makes up for it.

- The problems with consent (like mentioned). Payu’s and Rain’s realtionship started a bit doubtiously and it was on a very thin line from being a non-con. Though if you count in the Dom / Sub explanation of their relationship, it may not have been as non-con as it seemed, but that’s up to lớn you to lớn decide. And Pai’s stalkishness at the beginning also felt very abuse of power-y.

- The series has a slight unrealistic / wattpady feel to lớn it, it’s a clear fiction.

- Some undeveloped plot lines. I really want to lớn know more about P'Pakin and the xe đạp races, lượt thích who is he? Does he have connections to lớn the mafia? How did he get to lớn know Payu?

Xem thêm: hình xăm mệnh thổ

IN CONCLUSION, if you want a clean show where everybody is a walking green flag and there is 100% consent with everything, then LITA is not for you. But if don’t mind some toxicity and can bear to lớn see Sky’s flashbacks of his difficult and abusive past in ep. 13, then PLEASE, WATCH THE SHOW. It has ví much to lớn offer, ví much sweetness, cuteness and sexiness, it would be a shame not to lớn give it a try. The intimacy, chemisty, cinematography and acting are all excellent. It also comes with a delicious special episode as a cherry on top.

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