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mariebaggins2708 · 10 months

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Love In The Air - Three Act Structure

A while back, I wrote a tweet thread on the story structure of MeMindY’s popular BL series, Love in the Air, specifically how romance-as-plot is used. Here is that thread:

I half-witnessed a Twitter stoush a few days ago, which prompted me to post a thread, and now, this post.

A bit of background - someone was tweeting about how much they loved BL drama Love In The Air (13ep series on iQiYi and Viki), and Twitter being Twitter, someone yucked their yum and bitched about how it basically had no plot. *sigh* so here we go, my 2c on story structure and how it applies to Love In The Air (it’s a breakdown of Payu and Rain’s story, which is the first 7 eps. Prapai and Sky feature in eps 8-13).

Fact: BL are stories about love. It’s literally there in the descriptive, “boy love”. No love? No plot. By definition,‘plot’ is a series of events that happen from beginning to end. And here’s the thing - romance-as-plot has been around for centuries. It’s the backbone of the billion-dollar romance novel industry. Just because there’s no dead body, or people running from bad guys, or world disaster, or vampires taking over the city, doesn’t mean there’s no plot. The romance IS the plot.

Romance in BL is a must-have. Imagine picking up a murder mystery novel and not getting a murder or a mystery. A crime story with no crime to be solved. A romance novel must have A ROMANCE: two (sometimes more) people meet, encounter obstacles to their love, overcome their issues/obstacles, fall in love, admit love, end up happy. That’s it. It’s as simple and as complex as this. So let’s apply storytelling structure to Love In The Air and see why it fits perfectly into the romance genre.

Act 1 (Set Up) Ordinary World - Our main characters are doing their thing in their normal, everyday world. Hot seme Payu is racing bikes, doing architect stuff and working in his garage. Bratty-but-cute uke Rain is a 1st year architecture student, crushing on a disinterested girl. Payu is a senior at Rain’s school and a bit of a legend. All the students are heart-eyes for him, and that pisses Rain off.

Big Picture Question - will Payu and Rain fall in love and end up together?

Call to Adventure - Payu makes it clear he fancies Rain.

Refusal of the Call - Rain does not want, plays hard to get.

Acceptance of the Call - Rain and bestie Sky break into a private street race event, Payu rescues him. This pisses Rain off and now he wants to show his classmates Payu isn’t all that. Tells Payu he will make him fall in love with him.

ACT 2 (All the Stuff Happens) Crossing the Threshold - with Payu accepting this challenge, Rain is now part of Payu’s world.

Learning the Rules - Payu lays down the ground rules if Rain wants to see him - no cursing, call or text before showing up.

Mentors/Allies/Enemies - Rain’s bestie, Sky, plus his school mates. Payu’s bestie Prapai, and his bro, Saifah, plus the garage workers. Bad guy, Stop. And Chai, the 2IC for the rich street racer owner.

Trials/Failures/Successes - Rain has to swallow his pride and follow Payu’s rules. Rain steps from his comfort zone and publicly declares he’s pursuing Payu. Rain stops focusing on school, fails to submit an assignment. Payu chastises him for neglecting his studies. Rain works hard and finally gets praise for an assignment, and Payu is the first person he wants to tell.

Point of No Return - Rain’s reward for his hard work is intimacy, praise and lovemaking. Payu accepts Rain can 'stand by his side’. This is further emphasised when Rain (a submissive uke) takes a more dominant role in the bedroom (btw their love scenes are fire)

—–> Story midpoint <———

Escalation of Intimacy - talking, sharing of thoughts, ideals, emotions. Rain makes the first move with intimacy/kissing. Is no longer bothered being known as 'Payu’s boy.’ Also known as ‘removing the armour’ which is where our lovers are relaxed and trusting of the other enough to reveal the inner emotional stuff - secrets/dreams/hopes/trauma etc.

Oh Shit Moment - Rain is abducted by asshole Stop, which is revenge for having lost a bike race to Payu. Payu is forced to bow, is beaten up and it looks like our heroes won’t get their happy ending???

Act 3 (New Improved World)

But Then, Victory - Chai to the rescue, Stop is stopped (ha!), Payu and Rain are saved.

Return to the New, Improved Ordinary World - Admission of love between Rain and Payu. Rain publicly declares Payu is his boyfriend in front of all his friends. Big Picture Question is answered and PayuRain get their happy ever after.

So there you have it - boys meet, overcome their emotional issues, fall in love, face challenges, admit love, finally get a HEA. This is a classic romance story in a nutshell.

FYI, I developed these 3 Act stages using a combination of Christopher Vogler’s A Hero’s Journey, and Michael Hague’s 6-Act story structure. They are both experts and veterans in story telling structure.

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mariebaggins2708 · 11 months

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Round 2: Vegas and Pete First Kiss (Kinnporsche: The Series) vs Payu and Rain Victory Kiss (Love in the Air)

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Vegas and Pete First Kiss: "“you’re a psycho” *starts making out* like the tension, the way that Vegas made Pete initiate it and then the shock and relief when Pete actually does. they’re so crazy for each other and it was such a fitting and amazing first proper kiss for them"

Payu and Rain Victory Kiss: "The way the light illuminates them from the back makes the scene so warm, plus I love the sheer adrenaline high that this kiss expresses. I also can't remember Payu ever smiling this big at any other point in the show, he's euphoric!!"

#phayurain #bl drama #bl shows #rain x payu #payu x rain #bossnoeul

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mariebaggins2708 · 11 months

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Round 2: Payu and Rain Ep 5 Kiss (Love in the Air) vs Tan and Bun Couch Kiss (Manner of Death)

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Payu and Rain Ep 5 Kiss: "equal parts passionate and spicy!"

Tan and Bun Couch Kiss: "This is a legendary eating of face that deserves to be in history books. I know I'm not to the only one still thinking about this kiss randomly. And the whole set up leading up to the kiss was amazing. They were horny for each other from the get-go but while being high on adrenaline after stealing shit they finally said fuck it and ate each other out, we love to see it!"

#payu x rain #rain x payu #phayu x rain #phayurain #bl drama #love in the air the series

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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Cunty Noeul anyone?

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 Rewatch Thoughts Pt. 6 (final)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

We're almost at the finish line!!

One more thing I really love about this scene is how close Phayu and Rain are together. Their entire fronts are pressed together the whole time and even when Phayu pulls back to move downward it still looks like he's maximizing contact with Rain's legs. Rain also refuses to let go of Phayu's neck. And when they actually come together, their arms are completely around each other and you can see them coming undone. It's beautiful to watch.

Speaking of necks, Rain tosses his side-to-side at least 10 times throughout this sequence. If I was a writer I'd say the slope of his neck is elegant. We get it bff, you're having A Good Time (and we're happy for you!)

And then we come face-to-face with a condom. Rain does look a bit apprehensive here, but I think Phayu's body language goes a long way to reassure him that he'll be taken care of. Again with the skin contact - as soon as Phayu grabs the condom, he immediately drops down to blanket Rain with his body once more. We don't get to see it but I'm sure Phayu spent time making sure Rain was completely relaxed before he entered.

Everyone ready for lip-bite 2? I feel like Phayu's voice dropped even lower when he realized Rain's never had use for a condom before, and that he'd be the first. He somehow looks even more intense than before.

This is just so beautiful

I love that we can see Phayu coming apart as much as Rain - these are not controlled motions at all. It's hard to capture via screenshot but it looks to me like Phayu is desperate to hold onto every part of Rain he can reach. Rain understandably looks positively overwhelmed, but he's still pushing into Phayu's ministrations.

When they get close to the end, Phayu is also so overwhelmed by pleasure that he has to stop kissing Rain. He still looks down though, to make sure Rain is still enjoying himself. What a good hubby!

They are breathing so hard rn

But my favorite part has to be what comes after. Instead of pulling away, Phayu continues to hold Rain close and place little kisses along Rain's neck and chin. It's a good way to bring Rain back into himself after such an intense experience (it also looks like Rain is trembling just a little bit). Phayu then slides a hand under Rain's neck to ground him even more and encourage eye contact (another sweet gesture).

Phayu's face right here is so tender, so in love, and it has to be my favorite look on him. The way that Rain strokes his face and they make eye contact as Rain tells Phayu that he belongs to him now is precious. I feel lucky that I got to see a love like theirs come to fruition before me.

The only thing I wish is that they extended this scene a little further. It felt like they cut to the end credits too soon and it was a little jarring after we just witnessed a soft, calm-after-the-storm moment. It's a bit like how Phayu was breathing on Rain's neck in episode two and Rain got yanked out of that headspace all of a sudden. In fact, I'm pretty sure collapsed-by-the-bathroom-sink-Rain is live footage of all of us after that episode.

And of course here is our post credits scene! Just another bit of sweetness to tide us over until the next episode. I wonder if Rain comes over for sleepovers often?

Rain is apparently a king of unintentional seduction

And then we end the extra scene with the sweetest "Do your best, I'm waiting for you." P' Phayu I am SWOONING

I hope everyone made it to the end intact! See you for the next episode <3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 rewatch thoughts part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6

Ok this is from the uncut uncut version so prepare yourselves.

I love how easily Rain forgives Phayu but then immediately is like I want more kisses. Priorities, Rain, priorities

Phayu HANDS!

And so it begins. I've never enjoyed watching sex scenes in media - in fact, I usually avert my eyes or skip them entirely. But this scene just makes me happy, and I attribute that to BossNoeul and the production crew. First, watching the BTS for LITA's NC scenes makes it apparent how comfortable everyone was during filming, and that comes across well in the final product. Boss and Noeul in particular have very easy body language between them, and it makes their on-screen coupling believable and enjoyable to watch. The emotional connection is obvious and makes the physical aspect almost an afterthought. I think I've watched this scene upwards of 10 times, but whenever I do, I mostly look at their faces. Let's get into it.

Starting off, we have Rain laid out in the middle of the bed, Phayu is basically blanketing him, and in the background we can see Rain's hand wrapped around Phayu's collar. Although Rain does take a moment to remind Phayu he just came here to tell him about the teachers praising him, he does remain an active and enthusiastic participant in the kissing and holding. Phayu continues to look at Rain like he's the center of his universe (facts!)

Boss is truly a pro at the little gestures that make PhayuRain so convincing - he didn't need to turn his head to kiss Rain's hand, but he does and it feels so reassuring. Also Rain's death-grip-on-Phayu counter goes up once more, and I love how Phayu clutches at Rain's shoulders and then slides his hand down to grip Rain's palm and press it against the bed. That's very attractive, ngl.

I also love how Rain doesn't wait for Phayu to push his other hand against the bed and he just does it himself. How very...interesting

I just really like how their chins are resting against each other in this shot.

Alright Boss, do you want to give us a second to breathe before you bite your lips like that? Right in front of my salad??

Where is that hand going, Phayu???

This is a good part to mention how sound plays such an important role in this scene. I think they must've been wearing their mics somewhere on their skin because I feel like we hear it when they brush up against each other. I LOVE that. I also liked that we got to hear them moan in enjoyment - in addition to the adoring looks on their faces, the moans really sell the scene. I specifically like that they both make noise and it's not one-sided. I bet we can all hear this image:

This is one of my other favorite shots. Observe how one of Phayu's hands goes to cradle the back of Rain's neck while the other tries to intertwine fingers with Rain. Rain truly looks like he's having the time of his life being devoured here.

Does Boss want to consider hand modeling?

I love that Phayu keeps looking up at his face even as he's moving downwards to gauge Rain's reactions and make sure they're both comfortable. I actually don't think Phayu takes his eyes off Rain's face the entire time unless he was kissing Rain's neck. It's really sweet of him to check in the whole time. This is the epitome of body worship.

I don't think I need to say anything about this. Everyone BREATHE

We haven't even gotten to the actual lovemaking yet, so that will be the final part. See you there!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 Rewatch Thoughts Pt. 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 6

Rain really said boy BYE

Did y'all notice that Phayu smacks his lips and looks at Rain's lips like 30 times during this one minute of conversation?

Ok wait he's going for it!

KISS ALERT HE'S REALLY GOING FOR IT!!!

Rain was SO READY too - he closed his eyes as soon as Phayu's lips touched his. infinity/10 sweetest first kiss. It looks very aesthetically pleasing with the blurred out, neutral background.

Instant replay from another angle, just to drive in how comfy Rain looks to be there

I ADORE this "just been kissed" look on Rain - I like that both actors repeatedly showed us just how into each other Rain and Phayu are

I think we're on the 10th lip touch? Are you obsessed or something Phayu?

Phayu says thank you to Rain here. At first, I thought he was thanking him for the kiss, or for coming to see him. Now, I think it's probably for everything - thank you for meeting me, thank you for making me like you, thank you for not running away, thank you for meeting my expectations, and thank you for liking me back. And then we barely get time to recover from the sweetness of that kiss before Phayu is giving us this adorable face (which is my second favorite of Phayu's faces)

Including this shot bc I love Sky

It's Rain's turn!! Ahh it's so cute that he was so nervous at first but then he remembers that Phayu is supporting him (plus kiss!) and his confidence is restored! Also the background + Rain's tie is giving us some more yellow + navy blue. Cute!

vs.

This teacher panel is so funny - person on the left looks so done, middle dude looks like he's paying attention with the intention to rip the presentation apart when Rain's done, and person on the right looks like he's having the time of his life

Rain does so well! Even the teachers said so!! I knew he could do it :) Except Phayu isn't going to find out for a while bc this dummy forgot to charge his phone. Don't you know Rain's waiting for you?

Listen, I know this shot is for dramatic purposes and that Rain looks truly beautiful in the rain, but you can't tell me that he and P' Saifah haven't exchanged numbers yet. Rain totally could've waited in the house or even in his car, which he definitely drove there in. My dumb son

It's ok, Phayu is here though!! And Rain gets to tell him the good news!! Phayu seems more concerned about how wet Rain is though, and for good reason. He's probably watched a few BLs so he knows that the male leads often have the constitution of sickly Victorian children when it comes to the rain. He's rightly concerned for Rain's health.

Also we get the switch from Pum to Rain (the way Rain refers to himself) during this convo! I did not notice this on my own and will try to find and link the person's post who did. To my understanding, this is a more personal way of referring to oneself and it's yet another way Phayu and Rain are closer now! They're about to get real close tho ;)

Rain's death-grip on Phayu counter is probably up to 10 now too. I don't think I've said this before but Noeul has really nice hands. They're good for holding a certain someone's face and neck:

This screenshot doesn't do it justice but... this LOOK that Phayu gives Rain right before he drags him inside. Bff is ready to DEVOUR his man (we've all waited long enough lmao)

I was going to tell you all a story here and make you wait a bit longer, but I'll post it separately. As for these two, they literally did not wait any more. From here on out this is entirely self-indulgent. Enjoy!

I absolutely ADORE how they framed this scene with the curtains and the rain and the soft blue lighting that looks like moonlight. I also really like Phayu's hand placement in this entire bathtub sequence. Additionally, Rain gets a good amount of active participation in during these kisses (BossNoeul said dead fish kisses whomst?? we don't know her). It's another indicator of how happy and comfortable Rain is to be there

Another thing I've already mentioned is that I completely am in love with the way BossNoeul portrayed the way that PhayuRain look at each other. I have never been as convinced that the on-screen couple is in love as I am with these two. Also I am counting this as a headpat even though it's more of a cheekbone stroke :)

Again, they look so comfy and I love how softly their eyes slip closed when they kiss. Also reiterating that I love Phayu's hand placement here - it's like he's cradling Rain in his palms

New nickname alert!

How am I supposed to cope with this? Also I'm serious, where did Noeul learn to look like that? AND PHAYU'S HANDS send help

Wait I accidentally paused after Rain told Phayu to let him go so he could take a bath and this is so funny - Phayu's like babe did you really think I'm gonna let you go now??

Ok yeah sure Phayu, you're here bc you want a bath and not because Rain's lips are magnets to your eyes. Sure.

When I first watched Phayu pull Rain close to whisper in his ear, I'm fairly sure I gasped harder than Rain

Something happened to my brain chemistry here too

Rain looks so soft right here omg (I know the whole script is literally written into our brain grooves at this point but if you don't remember, this is when Phayu is apologizing for making Rain wait in the rain bc his battery ran out)

Onwards to the final parts for the sugar, spice, and everything nice <3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 6

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 Rewatch Thoughts Pt. 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Ok Rain, you and I both know you didn't sleep through this honey

Phayu looks unconvinced as well lmao - do you see this eyebrow raise?

Slightly controversial opinion, but I actually love that I occasionally hear fabric rustling and other mic interference. It adds a messy and fun element to the scenes that make them feel more real to me. Here, we heard what is probably Phayu's shirt slide against the mic as he leans into Rain.

The first time I watched this, I had to pause and raise my eyebrows ngl. Supremely unprepared for this relatively simple sequence and in the end highkey felt like I got slapped in the face (but in a funny way).

Boss looks so intense and good here

Taking it from the top

down

(including this shot bc wow Boss has big hands)

and...

(we just got to the halfway point y'all... whew)

I've never heard of this seduction technique before. Phayu, you might be the only one this works on (I feel seduced but not in a sexy way, more like if I was a cat I'd make biscuits on Rain's tummy)

I don't have a whole lot of commentary on this part aside from they're both adorable and I love the way Phayu likes to drag Rain physically closer to him whenever they talk. I think physical touch is really important to Phayu and I love how Rain basically preens under the attention every time Phayu touches him

I have literally seen this 12 times. Every time I'm like OMFG THEY ARE ABOUT TO KISSSSSSSS

But NO, freaking P' Saifah couldn't wait outside for one more minute. At least he has the decency to give them a countdown do-over. Phayu looks like he considering the merits of ending his twin while Rain is just distressed. I love how they framed these shots of P' Saifah with his body physically dividing the screen between Phayu and Rain's faces which are blurry in the background. This drama uses physical blocking very creatively in my opinion.

P' Saifah I'm going to reach through the nth dimension just to SHAKE YOU I mean seriously how could you not see Phayu and Rain were having a MOMENT

But it does lead to this stellar headpat so I'm not too mad (the 7th one in the series, if I'm not mistaken), plus Rain's praise kink gets activated (seriously, just watch him reminisce about the headpat that just happened)

AHHHH Rain looks SO HAPPY to see that Phayu wrote him a lil note and helped him out - I mean it's no wonder Phayu would bend over backwards just to put that expression on Rain's face from here on out

Including this shot to praise the lighting directors bc it's beautiful, as is our hard at work Rain

I think it could have been really cool if they had Rain use his lucky triangle ruler thing (that Phayu gave him) here, bc that would have been an extra layer of symbolism. I think if they were going to include it as a serendipitous plot point, it would have been better to introduce it this way rather than stick it in a glass case.

GOOD WORK BBY!!! Your reward comes later though

AND the first thing he thinks of after is...

LOOK at him being a responsible student! He's only got two left and then he's doneeeeee (unlike me, I still have so much to do lmao and yet here I am) - (OK I wrote this earlier part two days ago and at the time of writing this sentence I am DONEEE so me *join hands emoji* Rain: done with finals)

My plans for the next 48 hours:

Except this boy gets revived at the thought of seeing his pseudo-bf and runs immediately bolts out of bed 2 seconds later. Ngl if I had a Phayu I'd probably do the same, but since I'm a single pringle it's just me and my clean sheets

Ok, now where have we seen almost this exact color combo before?? Mayhaps you can scroll up a couple pictures...

Basically, I think this is the production crew's way of telling you Rain's about to get smooched by Phayu. Also Rain's changed clothes from the previous scene so he really cleaned up to go to the garage awww

I love that Rain tells himself he should be using this time to sleep, then shrugs at himself and goes to Phayu anyway. Priorities, priorities

Yay, P' Saifah is here to guide Rain to Phayu!! The in-laws are getting a lot of interaction these days hehe. Also look at how eager Rain looks here - full on puppy mode (I met a cockapoo puppy named Molly today so I know my comparison is accurate)

I like that P' Saifah is talking Phayu up to Rain - not that Rain needs any more convincing that Phayu is the coolest mechanic ever. It's the thought that counts though.

For some reason, this shot of Rain and this shot of Phayu make me laugh. Rain's just standing there like some guy when we all know he's thee guy and Phayu is making the "this is so sus" face

The interaction between the three of them right after is so funnyyy - my favorite part is P' Saifah calling his big bro out - this is prime younger sibling behavior. Also Phayu pretending to be a grump - he's just kiss deprived is all (that problem is about to be solved tho)

I also like how I though Rain was going to be the possessive one but Phayu is out here with raised hackles even though P' Saifah is just being friendly to press his buttons (again, prime little sibling behavior). Please observe how pleased Rain looks about this though!

Me + P' Saifah: Phayu you're a SIMP

Ok I like that they included this shot of PhayuRain for no discernable reason (bc it cuts to them walking over to the other part of the garage right after it) other than to show us Phayu looking at Rain fondly with his eyebrows raised

I also love how Rain immediately reports that his work is done (likely so he could get praised) but then Phayu counters with "did you sleep?" to which the answer is no. Rain's like "ahhh we can't win with this one uff" (don't worry bff, your reward is en route)

On to part 4!! I'm hoping it's the last one or none of you are gonna want to read it (this is a lie, there are 5 parts bc I have no self control when it comes to taking screenshots of PhayuRain)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 Rewatch Thoughts Pt. 2

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

I see you being a GIANT SOFTIE Phayu, nice try

Rain looks so smug in this sequence, as he should be. Also appreciate the positive reinforcement Rain provides with his compliments

I love Phayu's side-profile right here! The reddish-brown tint of his hair is apparent and pretty, and it's just a nice shot all around. P' Saifah walks in and calls him a meanie, to which Phayu replies "don't piss me off." Look at poor Phayu being all grumpy bc he couldn't tease his Rain more.

P' Saifah, the voice of reason, reminds Phayu that while it's good that Phayu is worried about Rain losing focus, he shouldn't be too mean or Rain will run away.

Sidenote: P' Saifah, I don't think you'll get through if you're "straight" with him, just saying...

Ok I LOVE this sequence because yet again, we have Phayu having full faith in Rain's abilities AND confidence in his feelings as well as Rain's reciprocation of them. We stan one confident king <3 I also love the upbeat, kinda jazzy background music here - it makes me think of the word whimsical for some reason, except the point being made here is that neither Phayu nor Rain are acting on a whim. Weird mental contrast...

And then P' Saifah summarizes the whole PhayuRain situation for us in one sentence with a necessary addendum:

And then we cut to Rain taking his work seriously while my other son, Sig tells us about his atrocious hygiene habits

I love how even while showing us that Rain's working hard, we're also made aware that he's prioritizing his time with Phayu too. Yay work-love balance!

Only someone with the brilliance of Sig's single braincell could come up with a nickname like Cloud Jizz for Rain. Unparalleled and highly perceptive

Poor Sky, being responsible for 3 grown children on the daily

Then we cut to the next day, after everyone has turned in their homework. Ple invites Rain out for food together, and Rain's face goes through the funniest sequence of expressions as he tries to figure out a way to get out of it bc he planned for this time to be spent parading in front of Phayu dammit! He ultimately fails though and presumably goes to eat with her.

This is literally "QUICK, THINK OF SOMETHING, ANYTHINGGG"

Ok folks, here begins Phayu's complete and utter descent into ruination courtesy of Rain. We know Phayu is attracted to Rain from the beginning, but to me, this is when we really get to see what that means.

But first, Rain what is this sleeping posture? How are you breathing with your windpipe nearly smushed like that? Also how is your tummy not cold? Are your feet getting any blood circulation? Seduction should not come at the cost of safety

Then we get Phayu coming in wearing yellow and blue, a color combination I never thought I'd see on someone who wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog, wearing a fuzzy soft smile

This is honestly just a really good angle for Boss. Petition for over 50% of shots to be taken of this particular angle. Also there's something so sweet about Phayu helping Rain out with this little task - this scene makes me feel so warm. Loving the trend of backlighting with bi-colors every time they're in this room!

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

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LITA Ep. 4 Rewatch Thoughts Pt. 1

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Alright friends, we've finally made it to THEE episode! Definitely grab some water for this one, you're gonna need it.

Sang along to the intro's chorus and it's a banger as usual. The recap felt shorter this time, likely so they could get to the good stuff faster. My last post was super long so no need to go over content again here, but I'm glad they included my favorite shots of Phayu holding Rain in the recap as a little treat.

This episode opens with P'Saifah doing some accounts for the shop - always a good time to see him! I'm still so happy that he knew to call Phayu as soon as he saw Rain standing there all drenched and sad. I also love that he's already accepted Rain as Phayu's person (so cute!). Phayu says here that Rain hasn't eaten since yesterday, which implies his last meal was when they went out together. I'm not sure if there's a special meaning behind it, but it is interesting that they're having dinner together twice in a row under such different contexts. Since last time, we've learned that Phayu is emotionally invested in Rain beyond simple liking (as demonstrated by how he treated and cared for Rain during a vulnerable moment).

I continue to love how they namedrop P'Pakin without showing us who he is. I, for one, would really like to put a face to the name of the all-powerful big boss. Especially bc he's clearly a PhayuRain shipper like the rest of us (evidenced by him encouraging Phayu to bring his naughty boy to the next race). Yay P'Pakin!

Phayu's face goes through a series of microexpressions here which really cemented Boss' amazing acting skills. You can tell he considers taking Rain for all of one moment before he thinks it through and remembers that he's teaching Rain to be more responsible and that he can't distract him with illegal street racing. I picked this screenshot for the pretty lighting and the subtle furrowed-brow.

Listen, I've said this 1000 times and I'll say it a 1000 times more before this set of posts is over. NOEUL IS TOO CUTE it's not fair no one should be this adorable when eating ramen

Phayu will really take ANY excuse to touch Rain's lips, won't he. I think we're at 4 lip touches so far in the series? I'm loving the bisexual lighting in the background too. Stellar shot

Ok if Phayu is Rain's codeline senior (shoutout to __ for telling me what this means), I'm sure he already has basic info like Rain's age in his permanent memory. Which means the line about him not dating underage people was either meant to reassure the audience he's got morals (which I don't think any of us ever doubted) or so he could get Rain to admit he wanted a kiss (which is mean bc then he withholds said kiss). Rain looks so smug here though when he helpfully reminds Phayu they already kissed

This is so aesthetic to me. The light from above, the hand placement, the absolutely content look on Rain's face. All perfect. I also love how Phayu gently strokes Rain's face before moving in - again, these two do small gestures extremely well that makes the couple believable. The way Phayu has his eyes closed too makes me wonder if he actually wanted to kiss Rain here, but then decides in the end to hold back in order to not be a distraction to Rain.

I can't get over how happy Rain looks to be where he is. I'm in unanimous agreement, Rain.

But then poor bby, Phayu throws cold water in his face when he tells him Rain shouldn't come to the garage anymore. The quick mood change is masterfully sold by Noeul's brow-furrows and parted lips. I also like the frantic eye contact he makes with Phayu here.

Rain's immediate reaction to Phayu telling him not to come is that he's sorry he's annoying. That's so sad, because it sounds like someone must have told him that in the past and it must have hurt quite badly for him to think that's the reason right away.

I feel like Phayu thinks similarly, and is not a fan of Rain thinking this way because he turns his head and breaks eye contact. He only looks back when he starts explaining to Rain that no, it's not because he's annoyed or doesn't want Rain around, but it's just that he wants Rain to be more responsible. I really like how Phayu phrases things in this conversation because it shows how seriously he's taking Rain and their potential relationship. Very mature on Phayu's part.

But then he immediately follows up this decree with a headpat/caress! He wants Rain to follow through on this relationship and he's relaying that through touch!! I found it very interesting that Phayu chose to drag his fingers along Rain's face instead of his hair, which is where he usually does it.

And Rain, our impulsive and rather in-love son, immediately is like Mission Accepted ft. death-grip on Phayu number 5

I couldn't get a clear shot of it, but Phayu's fingers appeared to twitch as he was pulling away from Rain, showing his reluctance to leave. Some very subtle but masterful acting from Boss (or maybe it's just that Noeul is like a Boss hand magnet so it was just nature running its course, or maybe it's both).

Finally we get the title of the episode, which is Warm Me with Your Heart. Well, I think Rain and Phayu warm up more than just their hearts in this one, just saying...

Fruity siblings alert! P' Som is actually a good brother and upperclassman for checking in on his sister's work and her friends.

Leave him alone P' Som, he's going through Phayu-withdrawals. I really like how they styled Noeul's hair in this scene! The bangs are so pretty!

Thank you to P'Som for sharing this absolutely devastating burn. I'm going to use it on someone someday:

Also life advice I really need to take LMAO I'm so bad at waking up on time:

Wait something super yellow-blue is happening here but I'm not sure what it is... Ok so far we've had yellow blue primarily with scenes containing just Rain and Phayu in focus, but this is the first one I'm noticing where it's so apparent but Phayu isn't present. However, the blue in this scene (mostly P' Som's overshirt) is a lighter blue whereas Phayu's blue is more navy. Maybe by the end of this post series I'll have figured out what it means??

Wait the siblings do really be fruity - P' Som is wearing rainbow tie-die so true of him

I love how Rain has dropped his crush on Ple like a bag of potatoes. Boy simply does NOT care, and Sky notices within 0.2 seconds. He's a really perceptive friend for being able to tell Rain likes Phayu before Rain is willing to admit it, and that Rain's not upset over the teacher's remarks but for a different problem. He also tells Rain to look inside his heart (a.k.a. to be true to himself). Can anyone tell me what Rain's shirt says in this scene? Because now I'm seeing that it's dark blue and the text is literally right over his heart so it could be important.

Sky immediately getting goosebumps after he was sensitive to his friend PLS Sky you don't have to pretend you're not the world's second biggest softie when it comes to Rain (beaten only by Phayu).

Ok this is cool - Rain's reflecting on his feelings while staring at his reflection in the phone screen, similar to how he was reflecting while looking at the mirror in the last episode!

Then we get a montage of Rain working hard and looking rather forlorn. He does ignore Ple once more which is an indication to us that he's moved past that crush completely. I also like that they made Ple such a nice person without making her romantically like Rain. She's cool!

Also they used my single-braincell'ed other son, Sig, and his friend to show us something else yellow-blue. I can't not include this shot bc how the heck was Sig comfortably snoozing like this? I want a series about the adventures of Sig.

After we see Rain working hard but still looking at his devoid-of-messages phone, we cut to an equally forlorn-looking Phayu. The man clearly wants to message Rain but is holding himself back. insert dreamy sigh (not even from me, Phayu literally sighs so hard right here that his coworker notices)

HE SAYS YET!! Y'all I can't get over how sure Phayu was that Rain was going to be responsible and then be his

I find it interesting that everything the other person said was a problem in his relationship is what Phayu wanted Rain to say because it would have shown responsibility.

I also like that when asked if they broke up, Phayu says it's not like that before deflecting. I always found it infuriating in dramas when people are like "I'm going to straight up reject you even though I like you for your own good". Here, Phayu didn't say they would never date, or even that he doesn't like Rain. He has made his interest abundantly clear and is just waiting for Rain to mature a bit. We love healthy communication and goal setting in this house!

Ok I'm going to say it again: I LOVE Sky as Rain's BFF. He is so perceptive and nonjudgmental and a great listener and I'm so happy we got to see his story in the latter part of the show.

Oh sweetheart, do I have news for you...

Next we get cupid-Sky saying that he never meant it when he told Rain he's annoying, and that he rather likes this side of Rain. This one statement is enough to light a whole fire under Rain and our boy is back in business.

Note to self: Can get friend-counseling services from Sky for ice cream (he looks so cute here like he knows he did a good job and also he's imagining how much trouble he just sent Phayu's way)

In the next scene, we cut directly to Rain showing up at the garage all excited to work, and Phayu completely ignores him as he walks by. It must have taken every ounce of Phayu's strength to do that bc Rain is looking mighty adorable right here. Yay we see P'Aon and the other employee! I can't recall her name so I'll call her Khun Suay from now on. Neither of them want to disappoint Rain so they have to argue over who tells Rain he can't set foot in the office. Rain is undeterred though, our stubborn son. He's an engineer y'know - he can solve his own problems.

I do love all the little details they put into this show - they just told us it was super hot outside but now we see it too with Rain's sweat.

Phayu, no longer able to tolerate seeing his boy toiling outdoors, comes to check in. Rain is here to complete his original plan of attack, which is to show up in front of Phayu every day until Phayu falls in love. But now he's also fulfilling Phayu's demands of being more responsible. Good for him.

The way they filmed Phayu here is interesting, bc he's on the far end of the screen rather than the middle. It could just be for some variance in shots, but it also does make it look like he's closer to Rain's side than he physically is.

Their convo can be summed up as follows:

Phayu: Why are you here? You should be studying.

Rain: I AM studying. Here.

Phayu: You're an eyesore (you should be inside somewhere safe and cool and away from my cracking self control).

Rain: But I wanted to see YOU.

Phayu: Ok nvm forget everything I said - how much work do you have and in what ways can I help without making it obvious I'm helping?

Rain's logic >>>>>>>>>>>

Rain knows he's won ahhhh what a smug cutie!

To Rain's credit, he does get back to work as soon as Phayu leaves.

Ok we're not even halfway through this episode and I already hit the max number of images so there'll probably be three parts to this (sorry in advance but I don't think anyone's gonna complain about the copious screenshots to come of Those Scenes) (This author's note is coming after I finished all the parts - I was so wrong, there are now 5 parts and y'all can thank my lack of impulse control for that)

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

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mariebaggins2708 · 1 year

Text

LITA Ep 2 rewatch thoughts

This is such a long post bc I included screenshots oops

I forgot to mention it last time but the opening is so catchy!! I also didn't know BossNoeul sang it until I'd already seen the whole show but that knowledge makes it even better :)

Since we're at the second episode, ofc they start us off with a lil recap. I'm happy to see P'Aon again, yay! Also I like the fun background music. Rain is giving inquisitive puppy vibes in this scene and I'm here for it <3 And then P'Aon mentions Phayu and he instantly turns into disgruntled kitten AHHH what a cutie

VERSUS

Also "how do I know your boss didn't do anything weird to my car" oh sweetheart, he already DID something weird to your car, it's all good now

Once again we get puppy!Rain vs. meow!Rain in the next scene (I'm serious, how tf does Noeul fit all this cuteness inside?)

VERSUS

P'Aon looking at Rain's number like it's the Holy Grail PLSSSS

Yassss Rain call your man out!! What have we got so far? Asshole, bastard, unprofessional, pervert - our boy sure has a range of vocab

Loving that weatherperson foreshadowing that Rain's future is about to have some storm-wrought turbulence - I think it's so funny when a character is like "I never wanna hear/see/think/experience X person again" and then one narrative later they take back those words real quick

I'm also a huge fan of the brothers' dynamic! P'Saifah is always down to call his brother a massive simp to his face, but can you blame him when Phayu literally has this besotted look on?

Ok but what happens next is really short but I think quite interesting. Saifah asks Phayu how long he's been single, and there's a long pause where the camera cuts to this look (see below) on Phayu's face. It kind of looks like he's been single for a while, and not exactly by choice - I get the impression he's been hurt in the past or he hasn't found what he's looking for. BUT then it's immediately followed up with Saifah checking in and Phayu saying "I'll tell you when something happens" with a rather gleeful look. He's already expecting Rain to meet his standards and not run away from him!!! I love how happy Saifah looks for his bro too

And then we get Rain channeling some meerkat energy (I know I've said this a thousand times but URGH WHAT A CUTIE). Also Sky's BS-meter firing so high and Rain's voice jumping like 5 octaves has me cackling every time

Actually, this whole section is quite funny - Rain skipping into the middle of the crowd and then immediately getting ready to run when he sees Phayu, and also there's something yellow+blue color-related going on here but idk what it is (it's cool tho!)

Here are the live reactions to Rain grabbing Phayu's arm to drag him away:

Phayu: mission accomplished 😎

Sky: prayin for ya bff 😇

Ple: I want that to be me 😒

Me + the rest of the students: hmmmm 🌈???????

Ok Rain really has a colorful vocabulary and Phayu is apparently is NOT here for it. Also are Phayu's lips magnets to you Rain? You did not have to stick your lips out like that when you're just tryna have a conversation about manners

I also find it very interesting that Rain is the one to pull Phayu along, first into the bathroom and then into the actual stall. On one hand I know he just doesn't want to be found out by other people but I do think it's rather telling that Phayu who is clearly much larger than Rain allows himself to be manhandled so easily.

First lip touch alert!!!

I'm talking about things I only know marginally about here but idk what else to call it so... I've never heard of a person dropping into subspace so friggin fast I mean all Phayu did was breathe on his neck for 0.2 seconds and Rain's goneeee. I was absolutely unprepared the first time I watched this, and even now on my nth rewatch I'm still feeling some type of way

I didn't notice this until someone pointed it out but Phayu does take a second to pull back and check in (peep the surprised eyebrow raise - clearly he didn't expect Rain to be so into it after like 2 seconds, but he's certainly not complaining)

I also didn't notice this before but Rain actually moans here. Very understandable. Also Phayu telling Rain he did a good job? Praise kink activated (Phayu really just awakened things in Rain one after another lmao)

Another entry into the Rain death-grips Phayu library

I'm actually a bit surprised Rain got yanked out of his headspace so fast - no wonder he collapses by the sink. It's good that Phayu verbally communicates with him right after instead of just leaving. Also interesting choice of words here... there def is something hard involved

I am a SUCKER for headpats. Give them all to meeeee

I can't tell if it's just a translation thing, but when Rain curses Phayu when Phayu is leaving, he doesn't immediately use any cuss words. Look at Rain being a good boy even when he's angry <3 Phayu looks SO satisfied lmao

WAIT SOMEHOW THIS FLEW RIGHT BY MY RADAR UNTIL NOW

Fruity siblings alert! Also Sky coming in clutch here. I don't really get why Ple is so insulted tho, she met Phayu for all of one min (tbf I'd probs react that way if I got to experience Phayu's presence irl though)

Cut to Red Blue boys racing heck yeahhhhhh let's go!!!

It's criminal we didn't get to see Rain fawn over Phayu in this racing outfit. He'd come undone like the rest of us

Also Prapai has a really nice smile! another cutie!!

Ok who is doing perimeter security for these races? Two boys with two shared braincells practically wandered right into the crowd with no trouble - I think if Rain hadn't looked so clueless he could've blended right in

I think the camerawork in these street racing scenes is interesting - I can't quite put my finger on it but it feels like there's something different about the technique or lens bc it looks different than other scenes

I feel like this is a good time to tell y'all I love the Fast and the Furious franchise so I'm right at home here

How strong is Phayu? Rain was actually going pretty fast but Phayu didn't even flinch when he barreled into Phayu's chest. Brick wall I tell you

They did the yellow blue thing again!

This must have been HILARIOUS to film like imagine going into work one day and your boss is like ok now spank your coworker and we're gonna record you

So the first couple of times I watched this I thought that Phayu was being unnecessarily harsh to Rain, but I think now I understand that it was to impart the gravity of the situation. Phayu really just wanted Rain to be safe and also his "grow up" comment comes into play later during the convo after Rain misses a deadline

Rain's death-grip on Phayu Counter: 3

I cannot believe this boy just BIT him so hard Phayu's lips bled. Phayu was so into it though lmao - did y'all hear his voice become so soft after the third kiss?

The line above is so funny to me like sir, the only kind of man you are is a capital F Fool-In-Love

Some more yellow-blue for us

Also he calls him P'Phayu here... what a good boy!

We love chef!Phayu in this house!

I love that Phayu has such confidence in Rain's abilities right from the start - this kind of encouragement is so healthy (in the screenshot below, Rain has just said that he wants to create designs like Phayu)

ALL MEN DO IS LIE (exhibit A see below)

PLSSS HE WAS ALMOST SELF-AWARE my dumb lil son

YASSSS YOU GOT YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER PHAYU

And that brings us to the end of episode 2! I'm having so much fun with this <3 Hope anyone reading this has a lovely day or night!!

#love in the air #lita the series #bossnoeul #phayurain #boss chaikamon #noeul lee

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