Love in the Air (2022)

Hmm

Expect that when it comes to MeMindY, the kisses will be great; a thousand steps from mediocre kissing scenes, level of KinnPorsche... but I think the greatness stops there. Aside from the kisses and visual of Payu, there's really nothing special about it. The story isn't something new, the music isn't catchy, the script looks like it was done by elementary kids, the acting isn't that great either but the production is good; the cinematography, the lighting, etc. [But let me just call out again the script because it's horrible. I can and I believe everyone can too, write scripts with much more substance than that.]

However, I think it has high rewatch value because of the steamy scenes and of course, Payu.

This will be the 3rd series that I will be watching that comes from MAME. She's a very controversial person as her stories have problematic themes. Her best one will always be TharnType even though it's also problematic. Out of the three MMY series: TTTS, Don't Say No, and this, I can see how the development when it comes to intimacy, they become unhinged.

Edit: I've finished and I can say the acting of FortPeat needs major improvement. I can feel their physical touching (stroking the hair, etc.) scripted. The last ep which was supposed to be dramatic and full of tension failed to even make it halfway.

You know, they all need to undergo acting workshop more. The cinematography and the quality of the series is great but the actors really need improvement.

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I Bought The Box Set

I'm a year behind, and wish I wasn't, but there you go.

If you can't stop re-watching a series, you buy the Box Set.

You just do.

The English translations of the novels "Love Storm" and "Love Sky" were released in May of 2023. I purchased them on impulse, and read both of them in two days.

Then, I watched the tv series.

And watched it again.

And again.

And again.

And then I bought the Box Set.

Let me start off by saying that this is a show that earns it's NC/18+ rating. If that makes you uncomfortable, that's fine, it's not your cup of tea and that's ok. It's mine, and I love it.

Rain is an Adorable Puppy dog.

I just want to give him a hug and spend the whole day with the little snark. Everything he does, everything he says, is so entertaining and so--what a 19-year-old would do that I'm grinning like a stupid idiot whenever he's on screen. His sweet and naive misreading of the initial situation is so authentic and his "plan" spectacularly backfiring on him is one of my favorite little plot points. He attracted to Payu from the get go(I mean, he literally says "you're so handsome" at their first meeting and then bites his lip because it just slipped out and I "awwwww"ed, because why wouldn't I). I also love that he goes straight to Payu when he needs him(in the rain, because of course) and remains his stubborn feisty, snarky little self even after they get together. Watching his become more confident in both himself and his relationship with Payu(Episode Six: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) is fabulous to watch.

Noeul Nuttarat Tangwai is a delightful personality and I love how he throws himself into his character. The lip twitch thing he constantly has Rain do is so freakin cute I could die. This is his acting debut, but it's hard to tell, because he's so authentic and commits one hundred percent to portraying Rain. I want to see more of his work and I hope he does another series soon because !!!!!!!!!!

I want a Payu.

This is the type of character who could easily be called a red flag, but he really isn't. Yes there are controversial scenes in both the novel and the series with Payu/Rain, but here's the deal: Payu LITERALLY give Rain the Safe Word/Phrase, and stops as soon as Rain says it. Even when he's doing the butterfly kisses he checks to see how Rain feels(it's a very tiny glance, but a glance none the less, and Rain *looks* like he's enjoying it; plus, Rain is 19 and super naive so misreading of situations is bound to happen). However, he never pushes later on--he literally says "I'll wait until you're ready". Payu is attracted to Rain but wants a committed relationship, and tells Rain so. There is no NC until Rain has proved himself to be responsible, and even during that scene, Payu is checking in with Rain. He asks permission and takes his time so Rain is comfortable(if you know, you know, disagree if you want to).

Say what you like about the early interactions( since I've dated guys like this; I see it as mischievous flirting, but others may disagree) Payu cares about his little Rain. He drops everything at work and runs home because Rain is waiting for him after Rain missed a deadline as is upset. He comforts Rain when he first sees him, and then delivers Life Home Truths about responsibility and then distances himself from Rain so Rain won't be distracted. He won't take him to the street race because there's "too many assholes". He allows himself to get beaten to a pulp by some rich asshole so that rich asshole won't kill Rain.

Boss Chaikamon Sermsongwittaya is making his acting debut with this series and he knows his character inside and out (seriously, that Payu Smirk and Eyebrow Thing is my favorite). He even read the novel and discussed his character relationship with both P'MAME and Noeul Nuttarat Tangwai(Rain) to make sure that the character was portrayed accurately. He's also a total sweetheart off screen so I'm looking forward watching more of his work.

The relationship between Rain/Payu is raw and sexy and full of squeal-worthy and even tear jerking moments(Rain's "I screwed up" about tore my heart open). Even before they get together, there's an emotional as well as physical connection that I adore. Payu reassuring Rain before his race and Rain running to Payu on the racetrack is another highlight that I watch on repeat because of course I do.

Also, Stop sucks. Like, what a freaking entitled asshole. But, a great villainous foil for Rain/Payu, and I love the fact that he doesn't cackle in the corner for most of the first half of the season and then make his move. No, he shows up halfway through, and antagonizes Payu in a way that's realistic and fabulous. Because, let's be real, sometimes people we see as"villains" show up out of nowhere and do their thing and leave. Theme Phubeth Atarunwong is another Thai actor who is now on my radar because he acted the shit out of his role and made me hate him so much(leave my baby Rain alone!!!).

And I want a Prapai.

It's the One Night Stand With A Playboy Trope--at least to start. The thing that I love about Sky and Prapai's relationship is that Sky is savvy enough to initially tell him "you're an asshole, I know you're an asshole, leave me alone", so then Prapai has to deal with someone he's crazy about who wants nothing to do with him. It's a sweet little slow burn, where Prapai has to go from Playboy to Nice Guy. And the way he wins Sky over is so sweet: buying him food, texting to make sure Sky is eating, and sleeping and literally saying "I'm worried about you"(which we know Sky loves).

Prapai is someone I want with me when I'm sick or stressed. The way he looks after Sky both when he's worked himself sick and when he's stressed about school made my heart melt. He's another one that doesn't push, but he doesn't push in a different way. He tells Sky "you can tell me when you're ready" and he also holds himself back beautifully when Sky is vulnerable. He also drops everything to run to Sky when he thinks Sky is in trouble, and even though he's annoyed that all Sky wanted was help with his homework, he stays to help. He even proves himself worthy by cleaning Sky's apartment and in the NC scene he wants to make sure that Sky is aware of his intentions(again, if you know, you know).

Fort Thitipong Sangngey is the youngest in the cast and starts out just a tiny bit rough improves as an actor faster than expected. Seeing his relationship on and off screen with Peat Wasuthorn Chaijindar(Sky) is the most adorable thing ever. He can say so much with just a tiny little gesture and I'm also looking forward to seeing more of his work.

Also, Sky should be my best friend.

For someone who has such a traumatic past, Sky is able to maintain his sassy and sarcastic front, especially in the first half of the season, when you're seeing him through Rain's eyes. He's the kindest, most supportive of Rain's friend circle and is always ready to either help Rain out or tell him when he's being stupid(which he does--often). In the second half of the season, when we get in his head, he still has that sassy front, but we also see how strong he actually is, and how hard he has to work to move past his trauma. As hard as it was to watch, his confrontation with Gun is a highlight of his half of the season because he tries so hard to fight back and it's Gun's lies about Prapai that finally break him.

His relationship with Prapai is also one of the most endearing parts of the second half of the season. As standoffish as he is to the "dark giant", who wants to court him, you can tell just how much Sky wants Prapai to like him and how much he hopes that his feelings toward Prapai are reciprocated. The diary scene/love confession about broke me and his "I love you"s in both Thai and English were a masterclass in emotional acting.

Peat Wasuthorn Chaijindar blew my mind with his acting ability. He's another of those actors who can act with his eyes or a twitch of his facial muscles, which is a joy to watch. He also said is a couple of interviews that he improvised some of his lines, and they were truly some of the best ones. He's a natural actor that I can't wait to see again.

Sky/Prapai's relationship is a beautiful contrast to Rain/Payu's. It still one-partner-trying-to-win-the-other-over, but there seems to be a more mature quality to it. Their conversations--once you get past the sassy "stay-away-from-me-you-potential-asshole" phase made me smile like an idiot, and the trust that builds between them was a beautiful slow burn. The NC scene was equally fabulous, and a fantastic contrast to Rain/Payu's, it made me "awwwwwww".

And Gun is a Fucking Pig.

Like Stop, he doesn't really make an appearance until the the end of the Sky/Prapai half of the series, his presence is felt throughout. When he actually does appear, he made my skin crawl even though I had no clear idea who this person actually was. His confrontation with Sky was heartbreaking and I wanted to help Prapai kick the shit out of him. Well done, Patak Pingmuang.

I said at the beginning of this review that the show earns it's NC/18+ rating, and here's why: one of the themes that I saw in this series is "you can have sex without love, but you can't have love without sex"(Boss said something like this in an interview and I totally agree). Both Payu/Rain's and Prapai/Sky's stories show that. Contrary to what some viewers may think, I believe that these are two of healthiest portrayals of how couples who have a solid relationship also have a healthy sex life, and I wish this was portrayed more often in entertainment.

MAME gets flack for some of her content, so this show isn't for everyone, but it's worth the watch--and the re-watch.

And you should by the Box Set.

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Second Half: I Looked To The Sky.

note: The first half didn't do it for me so I'm just going to focus on the second half.

It's a mature story and while I felt that the focus strayed away from it's most complex and intriguing character, Sky, in favor of some harmful plots it remains a strong story.

• Sky is the reason I have rated this series so well. His maturity, sass, kindness, beauty, dedication, and most of all his strength are a wonder to behold. I only wish he had been allowed to shine more instead of having pain constantly inflicted upon him. Still, his growth and finding someone who loves him so deeply were deeply pleasant to see.

• Prapai's development as a character is also worthy of note. He changed a great deal from episode 8 to 13 for Sky. He caused him to become a better man.

• They were what each of them need to heal and become the best versions of themselves. And the love that developed between them can be felt in every glance, touch, and word of affection. (Looking forward to the special episode to see more of that and them.)

Shouout to Peat and Fort for their superb acting in bringing it all to life. ✨ (Minor cast members did excellent as well.)

[ ⚠️ tw: past physical/emotional/sexual abuse (age 15 when it began), past sexual assault, ep13 - physical/emotional abuse & attempt sexual assault ]

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MAME ugh

Thanks to MAME, I'm now defaulting to looking for red flags in all Thai BL. She's managed to make me so paranoid that I can only call what I am right now traumatized. Congrats MAME, for ruining me for life. Not in a good way.

Fair warning - if you liked this show, then stop reading this review right now and click away. If you haven't watched this show, and have issues with dub/non-con, then watch at your own risk.

(If you have watched it and feel the way I do, thank god because I'm feeling very lonely with what seems to be my very unpopular opinion.)

tl;dr: MAME = Trigger Warning.

It's probably established by now that MAME has a thing for romanticizing toxicity. Enough that people are willing to overlook the messed-up-ness of her main couples that almost always start off on the wrong foot, and yet somehow has (most?) people watching it calling it cute/sexy and eating it up like it's so romantic. But if you look at her track record, you probably wouldn't find a single non-toxic pairing. Not even AePete despite how wholesome it started off as. And don't get me started about the clusterfuvk that's KengklaTechno or TharnType or LeoFiat, ugh. (She just freaking loooooves manipulative/controlling/possessive semes, istg)

I thought LITA would be different because it's rated much higher, but obviously, I should start seeing MAME as a TW before picking a series up. Seriously, how TF is it romantic to use multiple phones to stalk someone when they block you? If someone did that to me irl I would want to get a restraining order. And the whole spanking thing - it made me so freaking uncomfortable when it happened - it's definitely non-consensual and not sexy in any way. They know each other for like a few days and Rain is clearly uncomfortable with it. And from beginning to end, Phayu is so creepily manipulative and controlling, and I don't understand why I'm in the minority in finding their relationship extremely uncomfortable. It's like they're in a D/S relationship, except Rain isn't even aware of it, so there's no question of consent at all.

But the worst thing is everything is shown in such a rose-tinted way that it seems either comedic or romantic. I don't mind watching a fucked up relationship, as long as it's written well enough that you know it's fucked up. (VegasPete obviously did that very well. You know while watching that it's wrong and at no point do you watch it with hearts in your eyes. Morbid fascination, definitely - Lima/Stockholm done well.)

Also, her obsession with giving her uke characters abusive (sexual/physical/mental) pasts. Please MAME, that's not the only way to create angst. I mean, it's not completely a wrong way, as long as you, again, do it well - and deal with it well, instead of just using it as a reason to develop the relationship as opposed to a way of giving a character depth by healing past trauma and moving forward in life. Which is never done. Not with Type, not with Fiat, and definitely not with Sky. Love doesn't magically heal trauma for god's sake. Somehow MAME just manages to send all the wrong messages with her stories, and for those people who would say that it's all okay because it's "only fiction", well, it means her message managed to get across for you, congratulations.

If I could go back in time and make sure I never watched a MAME series again, I would do it in a heartbeat. I just keep making the mistake of not checking who the writer is before starting, so I suppose it's all my fault. I wish all of her works came with trigger warnings in the blurb so that I could have avoided them - but it's far too late now, so at least from now on I'm going to make sure to check who the writer is so that I never have to watch something written by MAME ever again.

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2 stories strung together well with great acting

I have always found Thai BL to be a hit or miss so I usually keep my hopes under check when I decide to give any series a try. This was no exception. That being said, after finishing the series I can state that I am glad that I gave this one a try. It was certainly not perfect (hardly any series can be) but it was good and entertaining.
The series is divided into 2 parts, each part dedicated to each of the 2 couples. The 1st part is about Rain, an engineering student who is in love with a girl but due to some circumstances meets Payu, an engineer and a bike enthusiast. Payu shows interest in Rain and devices ways to meet and tease him so he would fall for him (huh! what?). Ultimately Rain bets that in 1 month he will make Payu fall head over heels for him and bring a stop to his teasing. Here starts Rain's attempt to win his bet while also ensuring his engineering studies arent affected.
The 2nd part revolves around Sky (Rain's friend), another engineering student who is good with his studies and takes the responsibilities of being a senior seriously. Although he seems happy you later find out that he is battling his own past demons. His life is disrupted with the entry of Prapai (Payu's friend), a rich businessman, a philanderer and a successful racer who cant be beat. Prapai tries all the usual tactics to get Sky to fall in love with him and help him to get over the past issues that haunt him.
I am glad that they decided to keep both the stories separate although it dealt with the same set of people. This gave them enough time to concentrate on 1 love couple and bring out of the best rather than moving back and forth between 2 couples. It sometimes becomes an editing nighmare and there are countless such series that fails due to atrocious editing.
To begin with the 1st storyline, there are some great moments while Rain is trying to get Payu fall for him and is failing miserably. They are funny and sometimes heart-warming. You see that Payu likes Rain but is strict with him when it comes to his studies thereby showing that he really cares. As the story progresses you find out Payu has been manipulating the situation right from the beginning for Rain to make the bet and instead make Rain fall in love with him. This is where I was pulled out of the storyline a bit. It seems absurd that Payu can plan this whole thing out and knew that Rain will fall for him. I understand this is fiction but there is a limit to my suspension of disbelief. They could have ignored the whole manipulation plot and nothing would have been lost. But I did certainly ignore that facet and continued watching it with equal interest. The chemistry between the 2 leads was exceptional and it was believable that they are in love. 8/10 to this story. Certain scenes could have been trimmed to make the story more crisp but still good nonetheless.
The 2nd plot about Sky and Prapai was near perfect. The story had gravitas. On one side we have Sky, a broken boy with a dark past that haunts his dreams. He is seriously traumatised and that part of his is uncovered slowly and I loved it. On the other side we had Prapai, a rich boy who seems spoilt but is smitten with Sky after their first encounter and is willing to do anything to win him over, in the process changing himself and bringing Sky to terms with his past. The story is not something I have seen explored in a lot of BLs and I was glad to see it here and both the actors were convincing enough. Just like the 1st plot a few scenes should have been trimmed to make way for better story building about Sky's trauma rather than religating it to a few minutes in the last episode. That storyline had potential and should have been more fleshed out but you cant get everything you ask for and as I said earlier I entered this series with little hope. 8.5/10 to this story.

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dubious consent with a healthy serving of boring and fumbling of serious topics.

first half of the show the couple was interesting enough with some consent issues in the first couple of episodes but it’s mame, remind me to check if shows are adapted from her stories next time.
but the second half and couple were boring, had little chemistry. The acting and handling of rape and abuse weren’t the best. sky really just needs therapy instead of a stalkery love interest. Not a fan of how his personality changed just because of some rich guy. He lost everything that made him interesting in the first half.
The drag racing was an interesting idea but a lot of the racing scenes are just really long for no reason and in general there were scenes where it felt like it should’ve been cut shorter, the voice audio cuts for the phone scenes were hilariously fake and basically just audio recordings of the other actor speaking.
I’d probably give the first half a solid 6 (with no rewatch value) but with the second half and how it unceremoniously turned Payu and Rain into side characters rather than tell both stories intertwined, it’s barely scrapping a very mediocre 5.
My advice, if you’re absolutely set on watching this one, just watch the first half and skip the second half completely.

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Love Storm a bit less Sky

The end of the Thursday rendez-vous , I won't miss them but it was an acceptable story if you consider the entertainment side alone, because it undeniably was.

I much preferred Love Storm to Love Sky, the main reason being the chemistry between the characters. Boss and Noeul managed to bring this uneven dynamic between Phayu and Rain to life in both the domestic and intimate scenes in such a fluid and simple way. On the other hand, in some of the scenes between Peat and Fort, I felt like I was on the set, hearing the director's instructions and seeing the actors comply with them (tap your shoulder, smile, kiss, bow your head, etc. ....).

Both stories have the same flaws:
? A power struggle rather than complementarity. I'm not criticizing Rain's ingenuity or Phayu's bossy, manipulative side, but rather the way it's brought to a head and wrapped up. As for Sky and Prapai, we have two stubborn personalities, both manipulative and who confront each other to know who will capitulate first and once again I didn't appreciate the deconstruction of these behaviours.
?Mutual understanding, getting to know each other if you like, is not yet the high point of establishing the foundations of relationships, it's preferred to the passionate side. I have nothing against the kissing and bedding scenes, but I would have liked Rain to talk a little more about himself. It always seems to be a one-side view. Sky and Prapai have been more generous in this area but it's still not enough. When the plot is non-existent because it's intended to be, we should be able to fall back on the characters' portraits. Here, apart from Rain, no one interested me.
? Skimming over serious issues or just brushing them aside as if they didn't exist. To be honest the treatment of Sky's character still sticks in my craw because even if it's fiction you can't let a trauma like hims be swept under the carpet and only be brought up to introduce the token villains and return to the famous clichés of Prince Charming to the rescue of the sleeping beauty.
?️ Consent and privacy are still not properly addressed. Some scenes, especially at the beginning of their interactions, will make you cringe. It didn't get any better in a snap of the fingers but overall it's still manageable.

Admittedly, I cited more negative points or to be improved than positive ones, but I can say that you will not getting bored by these two stories, the rhythm is good, the acting for rookies actors is acceptable, and above all, Boss' performance is stunning (you'll want to see him again).

My final rating 7.3 out of 10. Not meh nor good.

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I don't like it very much

First I wanna say that the reason people liked this so much was because of the sex scenes and hot actors. I like the actors too, but this was not good. I liked it a lot when it started but the dad-son relationship Rain and Payu had made me uncomfortable and I cringed. I decided to ignore that and I actually enjoyed the first half of the season, cause I kinda liked the couple and Rain and Sky's friendship too. Sky was so funny and confident at the beginning so when he turned into a weak bottom who functions because of men's validation I hated it. I know he had a very terrible trauma but I also think it was very random to put those rape scenes in a show that seemed to be very much more comfortable to watch. Not to mention the very dramatic plots that they forced like that random kidnapping of Rain. About the Sky and Prapai couple I was hoping to like them more, but then it was just drama and sadness and Sky's actor was not a very good actor so he couldn't do crying scenes, which made me feel nothing and I just wanted it to end. So basically: the screenplay exaggerates, the acting is very medium, the story is mediocre as well and the older men of the relationships are way too possessive and kind of toxic but it seems to be what people like these days.

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Cheaper off

So it seems like they didn’t use the best sound and cameras that they could of. Story got a bit boring towards the end. Won’t rewatch and am disappointed in the sound and the shakiness of the camera at times.
P’Phayu and Rain were my favorite couple. P’Pai and Sky were okay. Their story and acting did not seem as good as the other couple
It seems like this might have been better as 2 mini series or else when they could spend a little bit more to help the production of it. TharnType had better sound quality and camera movements along with Don’t Say No.

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bad production bad scenario

the production is lousy and poor quality. the voice quality must be a joke. the storyline of the first couple was awful. the development of their relationship just didn't make sense. assaulting someone is never okay and rain's "revenge" evolving into love and admiration(?) was such a shame. at first i gave 3 points only for the sake of the second couple, but they dont even deserve that. side couple's storyline was much better and much more interesting; it also touched on some heavy topics. yet, it wasnt enough to save the show. the acting was okay. overall, i don't recommend this at all. just skip it and you are not missing anything.

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yall im ngl this series is asssssssssssssss

IM ON EPISODE 8 MIND YOU - and this is the corniest series i have EVER seen in my entire life.

maybe its a me problem but this drama did NOT have me hooked or at the edge of my seat at all, some scenes even made me want to burst down into tears from how much disappointment i felt. i feel like im gonna need therapy after watching this drama not because of how emotional it made me feel, but from how down atrocious it was. ?

idk abt the second couple but the first couple's dynamic and entire storyline is SO cliche, its another enemies to lovers story. and that's not even the problem,, like i love me a good enemies to lovers trope, but somehow i hated it in this series. payu and rain made me cringe so hard my brain stopped functioning at some point from the embarrassment. especially in scenes where payu gets all mysterious and says some cheesy line like "you dont know what kinda man i am..."??? shit had me curled up on the ground CRYING from awkwardness.

not to mention, i had to FORCE myself into finishing every episode since yall mfs kept hyping it up. also bc something in me hoped to god that it would progressively get better, but it didn't get better. like. at all. ? so now idek if im gonna finish the series.

seriously yall this entire series felt like a whole fever dream to me and like really , if you enjoy it, dont bash me for not liking it. i just hated how illogical the entire thing felt to me. i'm into fantasy and all that but are you fr ??? rain wants to prove to payu that he's NOT DUMB by trying to make him fall in LOVE ??? be SO fr with me, like what the hell is going on ?? ??? yeah this aint doing it for me,, im sorry.

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too stereotypical

i really don't know how people can enjoy this show. like this is too stereotypical and doesn't have any plot for real? i felt like i was watching something at first, you know, motorcycles races and stuff but later this started having no sense.

let me tell you something about phayu x rain relationship

i like how they met - that's was really nice and good acted but later? phayu forcing rain to have sex with him? and rain doing nothing about it really? it was portrayed like it's okay to put pressure at other people in this matter.
later phayu started doing some cringe and weird shit: "i'll make u love me, just watch" like he didin't force him to have sex with him... and rain was like "oh, okay, i love u". their relationship was dry, nothing more and i didn't feel chemistry from them, yeah they're had some sweet moments but for me it's still no.

apart from phayu and rain we also had sky nad prapai..... I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHOULD I START
i hate prapai for forcing sky to like him. you really don't know what NO means? sky told him many times that he doesn't want to know him and even talk to him and that man couldn't stop for what? if someone tells you that they don't want to talk to you and have contact with you what'd you do? force them to be friends OR EVEN MORE with you? nah, you won't do that so why prapai couldn't stop i really don't understand.

sky was traumatized but oh, he can be fixed by handsome man and power with love, ah... what a beautiful thing... what a pity it doesn't work like this

at the end - everything was about sex and some weird stuff (MY GOD DO U REMEMBER THAT KIDNAPPING SCENE?) i wouldn't recommend this bl to anyone

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