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fellowshippers2003-10-29 07:19 am
empress-wu.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2003-10-29 07:19 am
Plato's Cave
Title: Plato's Cave
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
empress_wu
Pairing: VM/OB
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Orlando and Viggo share a moment on a moonlit beach
Notes: Inspired by an article on the video artist, Bill Viola, and written formirabile_dictu, who wanted a beach scene, and gave this little snippet her thumbs up.
Disclaimer: This is not true, and did not happen. I was not there, they did not tell me.
From a distance, Viggo appears to be asleep, lying on his back on a rocky outcrop. Orlando stalks carefully towards him, bare feet sinking into cooling sand. Behind him, someone laughs, the sound carrying on the wind like sparks from a bonfire. As he draws nearer, the outline of Viggo's body resolves, small flickers of moonlight confirming the shape of a foot, the curve of a shoulder. Even in abstract, Viggo's body is familiar to him, recognisable by the barest line and shadow. If Viggo is aware of him, he does not show it.
Orlando picks his way across pebbles, tender insteps curling over jagged edges. He stumbles once, with a dismayed hiss. Above him Viggo chuckles, a soft low sound, and rolls over, reaching down to offer a hand. Orlando scowls at him and pulls himself up, fingers scrabbling against the rock. As he reaches the top, Viggo stands up, waving to him to follow. Orlando dutifully gets to his feet.
"What?" says Orlando, wishing that he'd brought his shoes, or that his feet were as uncomplaining as Viggo's.
"Over here," Viggo replies, pointing ahead. Orlando stops behind him and sees a deep pool, left in the rock by the retreating sea. The full moon is perfectly framed in the centre, a silver shield surrounded by dark water.
"The moon, yeah," says Orlando, and instantly wants to kick himself. Of course it's the moon, idiot. He peers closer at it, then catches sight of their reflections, shimmering across the water in the night breeze. Viggo's smile wavers, sharpens.
"This is how we first saw ourselves," says Viggo.
Orlando looks down, watching Viggo's lips move, and tries to decipher their meaning.
"Before painting, or burnished metal, or glass, or mirrors," Viggo murmurs, tilting his head to one side. "Before photographs, or films."
Orlando nods, his thoughts blurring.
"An imperfect reflection of reality," Viggo whispers, and in the rippling water it almost seems that their hands touch.
Author:
empress_wuPairing: VM/OB
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Orlando and Viggo share a moment on a moonlit beach
Notes: Inspired by an article on the video artist, Bill Viola, and written for
mirabile_dictu, who wanted a beach scene, and gave this little snippet her thumbs up.Disclaimer: This is not true, and did not happen. I was not there, they did not tell me.
From a distance, Viggo appears to be asleep, lying on his back on a rocky outcrop. Orlando stalks carefully towards him, bare feet sinking into cooling sand. Behind him, someone laughs, the sound carrying on the wind like sparks from a bonfire. As he draws nearer, the outline of Viggo's body resolves, small flickers of moonlight confirming the shape of a foot, the curve of a shoulder. Even in abstract, Viggo's body is familiar to him, recognisable by the barest line and shadow. If Viggo is aware of him, he does not show it.
Orlando picks his way across pebbles, tender insteps curling over jagged edges. He stumbles once, with a dismayed hiss. Above him Viggo chuckles, a soft low sound, and rolls over, reaching down to offer a hand. Orlando scowls at him and pulls himself up, fingers scrabbling against the rock. As he reaches the top, Viggo stands up, waving to him to follow. Orlando dutifully gets to his feet.
"What?" says Orlando, wishing that he'd brought his shoes, or that his feet were as uncomplaining as Viggo's.
"Over here," Viggo replies, pointing ahead. Orlando stops behind him and sees a deep pool, left in the rock by the retreating sea. The full moon is perfectly framed in the centre, a silver shield surrounded by dark water.
"The moon, yeah," says Orlando, and instantly wants to kick himself. Of course it's the moon, idiot. He peers closer at it, then catches sight of their reflections, shimmering across the water in the night breeze. Viggo's smile wavers, sharpens.
"This is how we first saw ourselves," says Viggo.
Orlando looks down, watching Viggo's lips move, and tries to decipher their meaning.
"Before painting, or burnished metal, or glass, or mirrors," Viggo murmurs, tilting his head to one side. "Before photographs, or films."
Orlando nods, his thoughts blurring.
"An imperfect reflection of reality," Viggo whispers, and in the rippling water it almost seems that their hands touch.
no subject
I love the image of the moon so much in this, and Viggo is so weirdly wise and wisely weird. Lovely.
no subject
Thank you!
EW
no subject
*points to icon*
hell, how could i possibly fail to like it?! ;)
n.x :)
Viola
And you are one of my favourite writers, I must have re-read "Viridian, Vermillion, Azarin" and "A Map of the Moon" and "A User's Guide to Snow" a hundred times...
Thank you so much for commenting!
EW
Re: Viola
i've not seen "the passions" yet (i live oop north) - mama novanine has though, when the show was at anthony d'offay, and she loved it. "five angels for the millenium" (at tate modern, the piece my icon is from) is an *astounding* piece of work, one of the few pieces of art i have seen that moved me to tears.
/art rant
thanks for your lovely comments! i have nearly finished a new fic. it's one of my more comedy-type thangs though *g*.
n.x :)
Re: Viola
More fic by you! Hurrah! I shall stalk your journal now, until you post it...;-)
EW
ps Mama novanine sounds deeply cool
Re: Viola
hehe! stalk away! but i'm calling it a night now, i'm going round in circles with my fic...
*lol* mama n is cool to the point of annoyance. she sees everything i want to see before i do! (even "kill bill", for god's sake!)
n.x :)
no subject
Thank you
Thank you very much :-)
EW