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31_days2005-11-02 06:19 pm
kurosawabride.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2005-11-02 06:19 pm
November 02 / Cardcaptor Sakura / "L'Empire des Lumieres"
Title: L'Empire des Lumieres
Day/Theme: November 02 / Life imitating art imitating life
Series: Cardcaptor Sakura
Character/Pairing: Eriol x Tomoyo
Rating: PG
Dislciamers and Notes: I don't own anything from CCS. They all belong to CLAMP. Dedicated to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
noble_scarlet and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
faeryetale. On the title, I was inspired by some of the titles of Rene Magritte's paintings. He uses a lot of magic surrealism, much like Gabriel Garcia Marquez does in his novels. The title is from one of Magritte's paintings. You can find it at [this link].
When Tomoyo decided that she wanted to become a painter, the entire Daidouji household fell into a nervous scramble to prepare everything for their mistress. Her mother hired the best artists to teach her daughter, saying that she had to be perfect...that Tomoyo had to be one of the best artists in the world. The servants busied themselves with finding the best materials, from the finest linen canvasses to the most durable of paint brushes from Europe.
This was, after all, what their dear Mistress Tomoyo desired and it was to be fulfilled.
Thus began Tomoyo's instruction in the arts.
+ + + +
Hiiragizawa Eriol always appreciated art.
Living by himself in his mansion, he preoccupied himself with collecting numerous paintings from different artists of different genres. Each painting had a story, each painting had a voice that spoke to him and he marvelled at the rich imagination these artists possessed in order to create such finery.
He collected everything from Renaissance paintings to abstract, always searching for a story to fill his loneliness. For, even during the day when he would appear to be a solemn and brave young man, Hiiragizawa was afraid of being alone in his heart. These paintings were his Arabian Nights. Every new painting he bought told him a new story and filled his sleepless nights with meaning.
And so it was how he lived.
Until he found himself wandering around another art gallery within the heart of Tokyo and found Daidouji Tomoyo's one-woman exhibit.
+ + + +
"You are very different now, Hiiragizawa," Tomoyo remarked, slipping out of her beige trench coat as the waiter brought her a cup of coffee. "During our days at Tomoeda, you were too quiet for my liking."
Eriol nodded, taking a sip out of his tea. "I would like to believe that the only thing constant is change, Daidouji-san. We were what we were at Tomoeda, we are who we are now..."
Her violet eyes blinked owlishly at him and then she let out a small sigh of relief and smiled. "Well, that has not changed about you, thankfully. Always spouting off words of wisdom as if guiding us through our lives was your sole purpose. It's rather cute of you."
"I have never known you to be so forward, Daidouji."
Here, she laughed, shaking the long curls of black that she had refused to cut. "The only thing constant in this world is change," she said, quoting him. "Many things have happened for me to open my eyes, ever since Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san left for college in China."
He tilted his head at her, wondering if she was making fun of him or being truthful. After a few minutes, he felt he couldn't decide which was which and he just shrugged. If there was one thing he could not decipher, it was whether Tomoyo had a streak of mean in her or was just very honest about what she felt.
Eriol decided to change the subject then and asked about her paintings.
"Well, I stuck to painting as a hobby while I was going to college. But it became a need to paint more and more each day," Tomoyo narrated as she drained the last of her latte. "This is the first one-woman exhibit that I've put up, after finding enough courage in me..."
He nodded, listening to the way the words rolled out of her mouth, watching her hands gesture gracefully in the air to put emphasis on what she was saying.
"If it's fine with you, Daidouji, I would like to buy your paintings."
Tomoyo stopped and stared at him. And then she broke into a grin. "Is that your way of saying that you want to see me again?" she teased.
"I think I don't like being teased by you, Daidouji," he remarked, a bit archly. She seemed to be enjoying it, making him uncomfortable. What was more annoying was that she was just laughing at his discomfort.
As she rose up to leave, she patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hiiragizawa. I'll make sure not to make too much fun of your distress in the future. But yes, thank you for showing interest in my paintings. Which ones would you want to buy?"
"All of them..."
Her eyes widened. "ALL? But why?"
He stood up and opened the door of the coffee shop for her. "Come with me and I'll explain it to you."
+ + + +
She had no idea how vast his art collection was. Inside the great halls of Eriol's mansion, Tomoyo found herself staring at works from Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin, paintings from greats such as Rosetti and Renoir. For him to keep such an incredible collection was something that Tomoyo never thought possible.
He had explained to her that the beauty of each painting struck him. That he saw stories in them the way he had seen stories in her paintings.
"How do you find them?" he asked, handing her a glass of champagne.
"That they are incredible," she replied, her voice trembling. Tomoyo stopped at one painting, staring at it for a long time. "L'Empire des Lumieres...by Rene Magritte," she read. "This particular one is beautiful. Then again, I have always loved how Magritte works with his paintings."
There was a spark of interest in his eyes and he moved to her side. "Pray, tell me what you see?"
Tomoyo swallowed, reaching out to reverently trace the gold frame of the painting. "His art has always dealt with perspectives on life. You don't just take his paintings for what they are, because they are never what they seem. Much like our lives, Hiiragizawa.
"People lead double lives, no matter how small or how much they try to deny it," she continued, reverting her gaze to him. "Nothing is ever what it seems. This is the beauty of Magritte's art. It is about what we perceive to be real in this life and what we perceive to be made up."
Eriol was silent as he digested all of what she had just told him, a new light in his eyes as realization hit him that she understood what he was feeling. "Life and art...yes, I think I understand now. His art is a perception of life. Perhaps we are all moving within a Magritte painting..."
Tomoyo nodded.
"If our lives were like Magritte's paintings, think of how perceptive we could all become."
She shook her head and reached out to hold his hand. "No, Hiiragizawa," she whispered. "Think of what magic we could learn to believe in again..."
Day/Theme: November 02 / Life imitating art imitating life
Series: Cardcaptor Sakura
Character/Pairing: Eriol x Tomoyo
Rating: PG
Dislciamers and Notes: I don't own anything from CCS. They all belong to CLAMP. Dedicated to
noble_scarlet and faeryetale. On the title, I was inspired by some of the titles of Rene Magritte's paintings. He uses a lot of magic surrealism, much like Gabriel Garcia Marquez does in his novels. The title is from one of Magritte's paintings. You can find it at [this link].When Tomoyo decided that she wanted to become a painter, the entire Daidouji household fell into a nervous scramble to prepare everything for their mistress. Her mother hired the best artists to teach her daughter, saying that she had to be perfect...that Tomoyo had to be one of the best artists in the world. The servants busied themselves with finding the best materials, from the finest linen canvasses to the most durable of paint brushes from Europe.
This was, after all, what their dear Mistress Tomoyo desired and it was to be fulfilled.
Thus began Tomoyo's instruction in the arts.
+ + + +
Hiiragizawa Eriol always appreciated art.
Living by himself in his mansion, he preoccupied himself with collecting numerous paintings from different artists of different genres. Each painting had a story, each painting had a voice that spoke to him and he marvelled at the rich imagination these artists possessed in order to create such finery.
He collected everything from Renaissance paintings to abstract, always searching for a story to fill his loneliness. For, even during the day when he would appear to be a solemn and brave young man, Hiiragizawa was afraid of being alone in his heart. These paintings were his Arabian Nights. Every new painting he bought told him a new story and filled his sleepless nights with meaning.
And so it was how he lived.
Until he found himself wandering around another art gallery within the heart of Tokyo and found Daidouji Tomoyo's one-woman exhibit.
+ + + +
"You are very different now, Hiiragizawa," Tomoyo remarked, slipping out of her beige trench coat as the waiter brought her a cup of coffee. "During our days at Tomoeda, you were too quiet for my liking."
Eriol nodded, taking a sip out of his tea. "I would like to believe that the only thing constant is change, Daidouji-san. We were what we were at Tomoeda, we are who we are now..."
Her violet eyes blinked owlishly at him and then she let out a small sigh of relief and smiled. "Well, that has not changed about you, thankfully. Always spouting off words of wisdom as if guiding us through our lives was your sole purpose. It's rather cute of you."
"I have never known you to be so forward, Daidouji."
Here, she laughed, shaking the long curls of black that she had refused to cut. "The only thing constant in this world is change," she said, quoting him. "Many things have happened for me to open my eyes, ever since Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san left for college in China."
He tilted his head at her, wondering if she was making fun of him or being truthful. After a few minutes, he felt he couldn't decide which was which and he just shrugged. If there was one thing he could not decipher, it was whether Tomoyo had a streak of mean in her or was just very honest about what she felt.
Eriol decided to change the subject then and asked about her paintings.
"Well, I stuck to painting as a hobby while I was going to college. But it became a need to paint more and more each day," Tomoyo narrated as she drained the last of her latte. "This is the first one-woman exhibit that I've put up, after finding enough courage in me..."
He nodded, listening to the way the words rolled out of her mouth, watching her hands gesture gracefully in the air to put emphasis on what she was saying.
"If it's fine with you, Daidouji, I would like to buy your paintings."
Tomoyo stopped and stared at him. And then she broke into a grin. "Is that your way of saying that you want to see me again?" she teased.
"I think I don't like being teased by you, Daidouji," he remarked, a bit archly. She seemed to be enjoying it, making him uncomfortable. What was more annoying was that she was just laughing at his discomfort.
As she rose up to leave, she patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hiiragizawa. I'll make sure not to make too much fun of your distress in the future. But yes, thank you for showing interest in my paintings. Which ones would you want to buy?"
"All of them..."
Her eyes widened. "ALL? But why?"
He stood up and opened the door of the coffee shop for her. "Come with me and I'll explain it to you."
+ + + +
She had no idea how vast his art collection was. Inside the great halls of Eriol's mansion, Tomoyo found herself staring at works from Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin, paintings from greats such as Rosetti and Renoir. For him to keep such an incredible collection was something that Tomoyo never thought possible.
He had explained to her that the beauty of each painting struck him. That he saw stories in them the way he had seen stories in her paintings.
"How do you find them?" he asked, handing her a glass of champagne.
"That they are incredible," she replied, her voice trembling. Tomoyo stopped at one painting, staring at it for a long time. "L'Empire des Lumieres...by Rene Magritte," she read. "This particular one is beautiful. Then again, I have always loved how Magritte works with his paintings."
There was a spark of interest in his eyes and he moved to her side. "Pray, tell me what you see?"
Tomoyo swallowed, reaching out to reverently trace the gold frame of the painting. "His art has always dealt with perspectives on life. You don't just take his paintings for what they are, because they are never what they seem. Much like our lives, Hiiragizawa.
"People lead double lives, no matter how small or how much they try to deny it," she continued, reverting her gaze to him. "Nothing is ever what it seems. This is the beauty of Magritte's art. It is about what we perceive to be real in this life and what we perceive to be made up."
Eriol was silent as he digested all of what she had just told him, a new light in his eyes as realization hit him that she understood what he was feeling. "Life and art...yes, I think I understand now. His art is a perception of life. Perhaps we are all moving within a Magritte painting..."
Tomoyo nodded.
"If our lives were like Magritte's paintings, think of how perceptive we could all become."
She shook her head and reached out to hold his hand. "No, Hiiragizawa," she whispered. "Think of what magic we could learn to believe in again..."