Saturation
         by shawolistic
         EXO || kray
         angst | AU |
         Chapter (3) | Complete
         Score: 94.5%   ♪ Mine
       by Kim JaeJoong BRIEF REASON FOR FEATURING

      Though very dense, this story had it all. A very original plot that I have yet to read on AFF until I came upon this story. The use of language was simply amazing and the flow of words was a bit slow, but in my opinion, I think the author had an intent to make the story so dense and detailed. Character development was fantastic, even though the story was only three chapters. It is a lot to take in, but if you are up for it, it's truly a masterpiece.

Title (5/5):

That one word just described so many aspects to this story. And that one word was so strong to support the entire story on its own. I personally have nothing against one-worded titles. However, I tend to be very critical of how these one-worded titles are presented throughout the story. And your story did not fail to depict the definition of saturation, itself, and expand on the abstract scope of its effects. It exceeded my standards in terms of one-worded titles. Bravo on the title ^^

 

Description/Forward (8/10):

The description did not exactly catch my eye. It wasn’t until I read the whole story that I understood how the description connected to your story. So upon first glance, I thought it was fair in that life is “a volley of colours” in which I could relate it back to your title, and the idea of life being a discotheque also made sense. I don’t know. Maybe I was just shallow when I first approached it. HOWEVER, after reading the entire story, the description and forward just clicked. It was eye-opening experience and I was just speechless.

As for the Forward, or the Prologue, it was definitely well-written. So going back to my first read, your writing already was very intriguing. It’s been a while since I came across a story where the choice of words and vocabulary were notable from the very beginning.

Overall, I’m really sorry to say but it didn’t exactly urge me to continue from my first read. There was no compelling force that really had me wanting to click next. Of course, after I read it, everything made sense and I was speechless, but I just thought I’d point out my initial thoughts. Regardless, amazing job :)

 

Originality/Creativity (10/10):

I just had to give full points here. This section may have a mix of everything—originality/creativity and character development/details—for it was just an amalgam altogether. The idea of art and all of its intricate details incorporated into three characters—Lay, Kris, and Suho—was exquisite. You twisted the cliché personalities of each of the EXO members presented, in a way that is just hard to see in reality. Take Kris, for example. From what I’ve seen, read, and watched so far on AFF, variety shows, and just random youtube videos, I could not imagine Kris being as lively as you delineated in your story. However, you successfully represented Kris in such manner that had me amazed in that I was able to read through it without any real aloof, awkward feelings. The ability to take a given character with its mundane traits and successfully challenge those very traits by presenting the opposite takes a LOT of creativity.

 

Storyline/Plot(18/20):

Okay, wow. To be completely honest, I just came out of an exam that required me to read long passages and analyze the contents, and this was written exactly like those passages. The story is REALLY deep but REALLY dense. I almost caught myself getting lost in the details and becoming blind to see the overall plot. However, I got myself to read it and the storyline was great.

In the beginning, Yixing just seemed jaded with his job. All the snarky remarks from critics, the mundane colors he works with, the trademark image that he had to keep up with, it was all sickening to him. He lost sight of what he was going for; why he had become an artist in the first place. He lost the thrill of finishing a masterpiece. He was practically bored in general. Now, I’m not an artist. The most I’ve done to get close to an artist is take art class in middle school. However, I know that color speaks a million words. And the way the colors are presented could mean so many different things. The fact that Yixing’s trademark was simply gray and bleak, it already set the mood to the story. At least before he was shot.

Having one event that nearly caused death stimulate something that’s intangible but real in one’s mind was just purely amazing. In the beginning, I had thought that Kris was a real figure, but as I continued reading, the place where you stated that Yixing saw Kris for that moment, and all of a sudden he was gone, it made me question what reality really was. And then, after that moment, Kris was back again. It was then that I realized that Kris was not real to begin with. Yes, I’m slow. Forgive me, I just came out of an exam x.x

Regardless, the extension of Yixing, or rather his alter ego, Kris, brought in a world of colors. The colors that Yixing had missed so much, but he just never realized it until he saw it right in front of him. Although he tried to reject Kris’ presence, restrain the aberrant desire, Yixing found himself missing his bright and lively side.  Until he finally created his masterpiece, one in which he gave everything he had, the past, the present, and the future. One in which he delineated the fine boundary between fiction and reality, One in which he created life. It was so beautiful the way you put this all together.

You definitely put a lot of time into this story as it shows along the storyline. Amazing job.

 

Character Development/Details(20/20):

This story went over the top with details and character development. It’s definitely not a bad thing where the author would get lost in the details. For this story, it was intentional. There had to be this many details in order for the story to present itself in such a bittersweet way. The fact that you managed to pull it off was just pure genius.

Since I have nothing really to criticize or review about regarding details and development, I thought I’d compliment and point out the things that REALLY stood out to me as amazing.

Let’s start with short and simple, first. Suho. He was a minor character, but his presence w