TEAM WHIMSY: Day 4, "Strange Constellations"

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Title: Strange Constellations
Author: catwalksalone
Team: Whimsy
Prompt: "Pemmican was the first thing I thought of-"
Pairing(s): Kowalski/Vecchio
Length: 11,600 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: Not until a chance accident strands him in strange lands, does Ray recognize the one constant in his life and exactly what he's left behind.
Authors notes: Many, many thanks to slidellra for her ridiculously awesome beta skills and also to zabira (Oh captain, my captain) for hand-holding and head-patting above and beyond the call of duty. I love you both. Also, thanks to my amazing team mates for their advice and squee and general all-round brilliance. \whimsy/

Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the Genre information in the header above.

More details about the voting procedure can be found here.

Strange Constellations

[Poll #1251330]

Comments

[j-s-cavalcante.livejournal.com]

This story is quite simply brilliant. What a romp! I loved this Buscadero Ray and his search for his "lost thing." It's a terrific, engrossing story.

Buscadero Ray falling in love with automobiles and bringing baseball back to his universe is made of win. :)

I'm sorry that at the moment I can't come up with the eloquence this piece really deserves as feedback, but I'll come back and try again, okay? Hm...I think you magicked away all the good words, Author! I'll have to conjure them back.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I do hope Ray manages to remember the rules of baseball after all the knocks on the head he had. :)

[jesse_the_k]

Ffffffabulous! I'm with ^ her ^ re: no words, but this one really rocked!

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! *beams*

[qe2.livejournal.com]

Oh.

Oh.

If this story'd been a book, I'd have been unable to put it down. I LOVED this. I could not stop reading it. Every world so incredibly clear, even from the brief glimpses you give us - the parallels, the echoes, the individualities all tangled fascinatingly together. And the amazing, world-crossing love RayK has for Vecchio - the STRENGTH of it, even before he figures it out. And all the etched invaluable details, from the humorous (smoking pemmican) to the heartbreaking (Vecchio, dying in Ray's arms)...just wonderful. I need to know what happens next, and that's when I know the story's set up residence in my heart. Mille grazie.

[catwalksalone]

Q, you entirely made my day with this comment. There is nothing better than knowing someone wants to read more. Thank you so much. You have no idea how hard it was for me not to glomp you then and there. Damn you, anonymity! *tiny fist of impotence*

[jadelennox]

I am in LOVE. Steampunk Ray traveling to our world Vecchio traveling to sword and sorcery Vecchio and so many other worlds. And even though you don't go into detail about these world, I feel like you know about them. I feel like you know who the Cravens are, like you know what that war was, like you know who Anita and Mamacita are. I want to know more about these worlds!

This is without doubt my favorite so far.

*hugs your steampunk world so hard*

[j-s-cavalcante.livejournal.com]

Steampunk! Thanks for putting a name to it. I knew it was some genre that had a name, but I didn't know the name. I'm woefully behind in cultural literacy. I was thinking of Mad Max...and Ollie the, uh, excavator. From that movie CKR was in, whose name I can't remember at the moment. I knew what the look was, but I really don't know the genre.

[brigantine.livejournal.com]

Eee! I like this story so much it's ridiculous! Time-traveler Ray, and all his Veccios - who are, no matter which dimension Ray's in, always very Vecchio.

It's exactly the kind of fantasy/sci-fi story I love to settle down with on a drippy day. Or any day, really. \o/

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! I'm delighted you enjoyed it.

[meresy.livejournal.com]

Cooooooooool.

[catwalksalone]

*beams at you* Thank you, sweetie!

[teaphile.livejournal.com]

Steampunk Ray! Goggles!

I love how you built Ray's world just through the language he uses to describe other worlds. Marvellous.

[catwalksalone]

Oh, thank you! Figuring out the language was an interesting and tricky thing to do - I'm so glad it worked for you.

[pdxscaper.livejournal.com]

This was interesting and very imaginative. I like that Ray was searching and searching for his true Vecchio.

Ray holds up a finger. "Number one, I'm dead so I can't talk." A second finger flicks up to join the first. "B, I was considering fainting at the shocking news, but the floor is some seriously hard stone and I already crossed concussion off my to-do list for the week and-" Ray adds a third finger and jabs the three of them in Vecchio's direction. "-in conclusion, oh yeah, you killed me. What'd I do, steal your favorite magic wand?"
This totally made me laugh. So very, very Ray.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! That's the very essence of Whimsy, Love greater than the laws of physics and magic combined. Who knows what dimension he could find himself in next? What if it has no Vecchio? Eeep! Not that! I really liked the slow reveal. At first, I thought it was our Ray that was lost, until he didn't recognize a Laundromat. Also, the pemmican line was beautifully random.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! *beams*

Also, the pemmican line was beautifully random.

Heh, I'm glad you liked it. God, what a prompt for someone wanting to write Ray/Ray.

[mizface.livejournal.com]

okay, so I loved this. And wanted to see more of each and every world, because I could just *feel* them, like if I could find the door I'd be able to walk into them, they were that solid. Which, considering how little we actually got to be in each one, is amazing.

And I'm not a big ray/ray fan, so I wasn't excited about this one, but, I'm really, really glad I read it. And I will read it again.

[catwalksalone]

Oh, thank you! Being reread is such a wonderful compliment and I'm utterly delighted the worlds felt so real to you.

[mondschein1.livejournal.com]

Oh, YAY. I love stories like this, where you make just one tiny modification to the laws of reality as we know them -- in this case, that Ray can travel between alternate dimensions -- and then follow through how the rest of the universe works entirely logically from that preposterous premise. Best kind of realistic whimsy. :-)

Also:

"Oh, that," says Vecchio, and he's never looked goofier.

I can totally see that face he's making. That's his adorable dorky I-found-a-shiny-thing face. YAY.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you!

That's his adorable dorky I-found-a-shiny-thing face.

EXACTLY! \o/

[secretlybronte.livejournal.com]

This could have been 50,000 words longer and I would have been just as engaged. God, how I loved it. It was just such a wonderful read. It was smart and interesting and each of the little settings was crafted with such care and attention to detail. Each of your Vecchios was shifted just a quarter-turn. They were each Vecchio but... not quite. But Kowalski? Was always Kowalski. I adored him as much as I ever do.

Such a great story and, really, such a fun and unexpected interpretation of whimsy. Thank you. :)

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much for this wonderful feedback. It makes me grin every time I read it. It was so much fun to write that it's truly great to know that people had at least a proportion of that fun reading it.

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

This was joyous. The details you used to draw each alternate reality were fascinating, and I found myself looking forward to the scene shifts just to see what variations you would come up with next.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! I'm delighted you enjoyed it.

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

Fantastic story, oh Anonymous one! (Although your identity was pretty easy to guess :-) I loved the world-building here, and the way you kept the characterization of Vecchio fractured but consistent: the characters were always Vecchio, even though we saw different aspects of his personality.

I'm such a sap - my favourite incarnation of Vecchio/Kowalski has to be the long-term farm couple relationship that "our" Kowalski gets a glimpse of. Jesus. That was so warm and sexy and snuggly. secretlybronte is right: this really was a fun and unexpected interpretation of whimsy. I'm not a big fan of sci-fi or fantasy, but I really enjoyed this story. It showed us so many great aspects of Vecchio, and your Kowalski was twitchy and funny and determined and always, always himself. Bravo!

[catwalksalone]

HI! And there was me thinking I'd covered up really well. Heh. No puns!

Thank you, nos. I'm so happy you enjoyed it, particularly because I had to overcome your general feelings towards sci-fi/fantasy (heh, I make you read a lot of that, don't I? What with Cosmic Rays and now this.) World-building always worries me, so I'm really pleased it worked for you. Also, I'm delighted you loved the farming Vecchio/Kowalski - I rather love them myself. (And I've only just realised that the two Rays from Under Summer Skies were going to go off and farm - I must be very keen on the idea of Kowalski chasing chickens.)

[akamine_chan]

Oh, I loved this. Steampunk has always been a favorite genre of mine, but if you had told me before this about due South steampunk, I would have laughed my ass off. I'm not laughing.

Well, actually I am.

"Hey," Ray interrupts, feeling somewhat aggrieved. "I died. Less of the Kowalski-is-special routine. There should definitely be less of that. And more breakfast." His stomach growls in agreement. "Yeah, see, stomach says more breakfast."

There is so much of what is right with this story, and one of the biggest is the voices of the characters. Even twisted out of true and taken out of Chicago, I still hear Vecchio and Kowalski so clearly.

And the connection between them, unbreakable over time and space and dimensional shifts and death...

It is not the Vecchio Ray knows, that Ray wants, but he feels the death like a crushing blow and collapses over Vecchio's body, racked with dry sobs and with the sure knowledge that if he does not get home in time he may never be able to live with himself. If he does? Well, there are things that need to be said if he can convince Vecchio to listen.

And this, the unspoken communication between them, the love and partnership and caring, expressed finally...

"Yeah?" Vecchio's eyes are smiling as Ray nods and tugs on his hand, pulling him forward. He catches Vecchio's vest with his other hand and steadies them both, leaning in to touch their lips together in a tentative kiss. Vecchio is warm underneath Ray and his lips part just enough for Ray to fit their mouths together like perfect puzzle pieces. Apart from Vecchio's hand coming up to cup Ray's jaw, neither of them move for a long time. Ray's almost afraid to break the kiss because he knows this moment won't ever come again but Vecchio's thumb rubs along his cheek and then Ray's head is filled with the worlds and worlds of possibilities of what could come next. He's glad Vecchio is a quick healer.

Wonderful job, mystery writer! Truly wonderful!

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! I have to admit that I'm no expert on steampunk, though I love the concept, so if it worked for a fan of the genre then that's excellent news. \research/

[thady.livejournal.com]

I love this story, and I'm impressed with your character voices. RayK is so RayK, and Vecchio is Vecchio no matter the reality. :)

[catwalksalone]

Thank you!

[wihluta.livejournal.com]

Wonderful!!
I love how Ray falls from universe to universe and they're all so different and unique and still Vecchio is always Vecchio. I love the detailed descriptions of each universe. I could almost see and smell them. :-)

What a great story!

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! It's great to hear how real the worlds were to you.

[suchthefangirl.livejournal.com]

Um, I was not expecting to like this. I am not a fan of Ray/Ray as a rule, but I am trying to be good and read them all...

Yup, I loved it. Just great. Part of it was the idea that RayK and Fraser are together in one world, and Ray V is still pining/waiting for Fraser in our world, so the idea that RayK and RayV belong together in other worlds is just sweet.

And oh, I loved the farming Rays.

I thought it was very interesting how Ray never bumped into himself in any of the worlds. That might have been awkward but fascinating if he had.

And again, I can't wait until I finish reading all the stories and have time to go back and reread them.

[catwalksalone]

Hee. HI! You totally knew this was me, right?

I'm so pleased you loved it, honey. Thank you! *smish* Oh, and there is no pining, just waiting for his boyfriend to get back from vacation. BOYS!

It was a deliberate choice not to have Ray meeting himself, because the story was very much about his relationship to Vecchio and it would have been distracting, but yes, I agree, it would have been interesting to see what would happen.

[leyna55.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this. Loved Steampunk!Ray and the glimpses of his world, plus all the other AUs. Marvellous work in evoking the different AUs, and Ray's pov of them. I particularly liked the Mage!AU. (but poor Mage!Vecchio)

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! It broke my heart to break Mage!Vecchio's heart - thank goodness there were other, happier iterations.

[chalcopyrite.livejournal.com]

Oooh, this was fun! I loved how you hit the note of not-quite-our-Chicago right up front with Vecchio's hat, but it was so subtle that I still had a "waaaaait a minute" moment about the Laundromat. The dimension-skipping was awesome; I love how different they all are (and there's always a Vecchio! Even when it's all sad!). The little glimpses we get of Ray's "home" dimension are nifty-keen. And the pemmican line! ::flails::

Lovely balance of sad and sweet and silly, and a happy ending that made me go YAY! Also, aiding in my conversion to the Ray/Ray side (is that the dark one? I always forget these things. *g*)

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And delighted to help you along the road to Ray/Ray - those boys are really incredible together.

[sisterofdream.livejournal.com]

Oh I loved this so! STEAMPUNK! Absolutely brilliant! You would get eleventy billion points from me for steampunk except I can't vote.

Ray's slow realization of the fact that he was in love with Vecchio was beautiful. Each of the worlds and the Rays (and Rays) perfectly imagined and fully realized. The pemmican line? Awesomely worked in!

I want a book of this! I want more RayK traveling through the multiverse looking for lost things! Please?

[catwalksalone]

\o/ Thank you! *beams and beams* I'm so happy you liked the pemmican line - that prompt drove me so crazy the only way to go with it was cracked.

I want a book of this! I want more RayK traveling through the multiverse looking for lost things! Please?
It was a lot of fun writing in this AU - I'm certainly not ruling out writing in it again.

[leonandra.livejournal.com]

I don't even know where to start. I loved the story to bits.

I got very vivid images from each of the different worlds Kowalski stumbles into. The whole fic reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett and especially Rincewind.
I love the different incarnations of Vecchio and their relationships with Kowalski. All relationships are different, but all are caring and with an underlying love (even sextus).

No, he thinks. I found my lost thing. This made me think of "The Lost Thing" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Thing-Shaun-Tan/dp/0734403887) by Shaun Tan (http://www.shauntan.net/books.html). One of my favourite picture books. But, unlike in the picture book, Kowalski finds and SEES Vecchio and keeps his lost thing.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you so much! It's interesting that you mention Terry Pratchett because in my notes for Tertius are 'kind of Terry Pratchetty' when trying to define the level of magic and so on.

I love Shaun Tan - I've never seen that particular book before, though - his "The Red Tree" is beautiful and one of my personal favourites.

[snoopypez.livejournal.com]

This was so beautiful that it stole all my words.

[catwalksalone]

Awww, thank you, honey! I know how difficult that is for you. ;P

[belmanoir.livejournal.com]

i FINALLY got around to reading this and i ADORE it!!!!!! all the vecchios and kowalskis! and ANITA OMG ANITA I LOVE YOU! POINTY HAT VECCHIO! VECCHIO WITH A BANDOLEER! VECCHIOOOOOOOOOO! i simultaneously am sad and love love love that we never met any parallel frasers. and awwww vecchio thought he was dead and didn't care about getting hit with the poker! BOYS!!!!

[belmanoir.livejournal.com]

also pemmican HAHAHAHA!

[0not-just-me0.livejournal.com]

Holy crow. This was amazing. Amazing amazing amazing.
Made me wanna wrap RayK up and take him and feed him warm soup and homemade bread, and then help him go find his Vecchio.
Just... amazing.

[catwalksalone]

Thank you! *beams* I'm sure Kowalski would take all the help he could get.