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Fic: Washed Out
Sep. 27th, 2012 11:42 pmTitle: Washed Out
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Kai-centric, slight Suho/Kai
Genre: Gen, mild angst
Rating: G
Length: Oneshot (drabble), 200 words
Summary: Kai takes a shower, Suho interrupts.
Prompts: Taken from seouldout's Round 06 Challenge One
How it meets prompt 1:
There is obviously water all over the place since Kai is in the middle of a shower. The heart is formed when Suho is trying to peer through the frosted glass door at Jongin. If you cup your hands around your eyes, it makes a heart shape. The black and white are actually covered in two ways: one is in how very straight-foward Kai is towards Suho, and the other is Suho's shadowy figure behind the frosted glass -- which often appears off-white. I should know, I googled it.
How it meets prompt 2:
My analysis of the photo prompt was that is was essentially about the disconnect between two people, as seen by the two people about to walk past each other, probably not even meeting eyes. A disconnect where you either can't meet eyes (the frosted glass obscuring Kai and Suho's views) or you refuse to (Kai not even trying). The fact that the bridge was in the picture, but the people were far away from it made me think of a failed attempt to bridge a gap between people. The gray color of the picture inspired the somber, distant tone. The orange of Suho's sweater comes from the woman's jacket in the photo -- it is eye-catching, but not enough to actually result in the meeting of eyes between people. And then there's the river -- the Thames to be exact. I don't know how it is now, but when I read Heart of Darkness it had a reputation as being polluted, which was another reason for the somber, resigned tone. It also led to the use of water lol. There's also the sense of isolation in the photo, that was transferred over to the drabble by putting Kai in what was essentially a glass box lol
There's more I wanted to say in this drabble. I originally thought I would have had enough words to fit in a non-argument where Kai thinks more about Suho and Suho firmly identifies himself by his role as Suho, the leader of Exo-K and Kai's hyung rather than as Joonmyun. I wanted to have Kai tell Suho to stop smiling, which he knows Suho is doing even when he can't see his face clearly through the frosted glass. I planned for more dialogue actually. I'm glad I got the "I'm done" part in, because it's showing Kai's unwillingness to open up to Suho. He says "I'm done (with my shower)" and means "I'm done with you. I'm done with this discussion." The title barely connects to this train of thought -- "Washed out" refers to Kai's weariness in addition to being a shower pun.
I guess the only other thing I'd like to point out is the ending. It's a bit of a pun -- Suho is the water slipping through Kai's fingers due to the lack of understanding between them, and this is happening as Suho is finally leaving Kai alone. And also, Suho's "power" is water control. While Kai is, by this point, "drained". Heh. And that by that point, it should be possible to read the "resignation/retreat" part as applying to either Suho (who is backing down) or Kai (who isn't even bothering, is hiding away).
Final note: an unofficial inspiration was Maroon 5's "Payphone", specifically the part where "all of our bridges burnt down". About the futility of a relationship where one person isn't even trying.
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Kai-centric, slight Suho/Kai
Genre: Gen, mild angst
Rating: G
Length: Oneshot (drabble), 200 words
Summary: Kai takes a shower, Suho interrupts.
Jongin breathes in the steam rising around him. He rests his head against smooth glass, letting the spray of hot water wash away all signs of the day and watching as the droplets race down the paths forged by his hard-earned sweat. When he's like this -- hidden away behind a frosted door, shut off from the world of cameras and fans and never-ending dance practices -- it's easy to forget everything.
All it takes to break the illusion is one word.
"Jongin?"
He groans at the interruption, at the shadowy figure approaching from beyond the door. Eventually, he can see the dull orange of Joonmyun's stupid sweater through the glass. The faint outline of hands appear, cupped around a pair of eyes Jongin doesn't bother meeting.
"Is your back okay? You're supposed to take it easy."
Jongin holds back the growl in his throat, but not the scowl on his face. The glass can only hide so much from someone who's known him for five years.
"I'm fine. I'm done."
Even the running shower can't drown out the sounds of resignation, of a retreat. Jongin watches the last of the water slip through his fingers and into the drain.
All it takes to break the illusion is one word.
"Jongin?"
He groans at the interruption, at the shadowy figure approaching from beyond the door. Eventually, he can see the dull orange of Joonmyun's stupid sweater through the glass. The faint outline of hands appear, cupped around a pair of eyes Jongin doesn't bother meeting.
"Is your back okay? You're supposed to take it easy."
Jongin holds back the growl in his throat, but not the scowl on his face. The glass can only hide so much from someone who's known him for five years.
"I'm fine. I'm done."
Even the running shower can't drown out the sounds of resignation, of a retreat. Jongin watches the last of the water slip through his fingers and into the drain.
Prompts: Taken from seouldout's Round 06 Challenge One
1. Word set: water, heart, black and white (from in_vazn)
2. Picture: Strangers. London, England. July 2012. by chattelatte @ tumblr
Author's Note: I'm not participating in seouldout, not officially. I decided to give it a try though on my own, which means I'll be following the prompts and the deadlines. This is a writing exercise for myself. A word count limit is actually very difficult to meet, I was constantly going over. This drabble actually uses both prompts as in inspiration. My explanation will likely be longer than the drabble itself, so sit tight or skip it. Either one.2. Picture: Strangers. London, England. July 2012. by chattelatte @ tumblr
How it meets prompt 1:
There is obviously water all over the place since Kai is in the middle of a shower. The heart is formed when Suho is trying to peer through the frosted glass door at Jongin. If you cup your hands around your eyes, it makes a heart shape. The black and white are actually covered in two ways: one is in how very straight-foward Kai is towards Suho, and the other is Suho's shadowy figure behind the frosted glass -- which often appears off-white. I should know, I googled it.
How it meets prompt 2:
My analysis of the photo prompt was that is was essentially about the disconnect between two people, as seen by the two people about to walk past each other, probably not even meeting eyes. A disconnect where you either can't meet eyes (the frosted glass obscuring Kai and Suho's views) or you refuse to (Kai not even trying). The fact that the bridge was in the picture, but the people were far away from it made me think of a failed attempt to bridge a gap between people. The gray color of the picture inspired the somber, distant tone. The orange of Suho's sweater comes from the woman's jacket in the photo -- it is eye-catching, but not enough to actually result in the meeting of eyes between people. And then there's the river -- the Thames to be exact. I don't know how it is now, but when I read Heart of Darkness it had a reputation as being polluted, which was another reason for the somber, resigned tone. It also led to the use of water lol. There's also the sense of isolation in the photo, that was transferred over to the drabble by putting Kai in what was essentially a glass box lol
There's more I wanted to say in this drabble. I originally thought I would have had enough words to fit in a non-argument where Kai thinks more about Suho and Suho firmly identifies himself by his role as Suho, the leader of Exo-K and Kai's hyung rather than as Joonmyun. I wanted to have Kai tell Suho to stop smiling, which he knows Suho is doing even when he can't see his face clearly through the frosted glass. I planned for more dialogue actually. I'm glad I got the "I'm done" part in, because it's showing Kai's unwillingness to open up to Suho. He says "I'm done (with my shower)" and means "I'm done with you. I'm done with this discussion." The title barely connects to this train of thought -- "Washed out" refers to Kai's weariness in addition to being a shower pun.
I guess the only other thing I'd like to point out is the ending. It's a bit of a pun -- Suho is the water slipping through Kai's fingers due to the lack of understanding between them, and this is happening as Suho is finally leaving Kai alone. And also, Suho's "power" is water control. While Kai is, by this point, "drained". Heh. And that by that point, it should be possible to read the "resignation/retreat" part as applying to either Suho (who is backing down) or Kai (who isn't even bothering, is hiding away).
Final note: an unofficial inspiration was Maroon 5's "Payphone", specifically the part where "all of our bridges burnt down". About the futility of a relationship where one person isn't even trying.
