And another twenty things...
Oct. 25th, 2003 03:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katallisonFollowing up on my Fraser thing (since I clearly am not getting down to all the *work* I should be doing),
RayK:
1. The way he moves. OK, I should start out with something deeper-like, but my god, the way he moves.
2. In particular, the truculent, do-not-fuck-with-me shoulder-roll/head-tilt. It feels odd to me when I see CKR do that in other roles, because it's quintessential RayK to me.
3. The bracelet, and more particularly, scenes where he's holding a gun and wearing the bracelet and they're sort of glinting together. Guh.
4. The eternal-kid element, the playfulness and the sort of innocence he's retained, under the tough-guy surface.
5. The sense that about a tenth of an inch below the tough-guy surface, he is so looking for something to believe in, something he can cling to as proof that the universe is capable of being better.
6. His ferocity, evidenced both in the sudden outbursts of violence, and in his sort of wolfishly-glittering moments of threat (e.g., the "We're good to go" bit with Warfield).
7. The seductive flirtatiousness he is capable of unleashing on occasion, e.g. when he's back in Stella's apartment in Strange Bedfellows just before Fraser shows up. World of guh.
8. His rapport with Dief, which really feels easy and affectionate on both sides.
9. His emotional transparency, the way that he's willing to let it all bleed through. (I can't help recollecting Ces's "emotional gymnast" thing from Eight Sessions in this regard.)
10. The way you can tell that, far from being stupid, this is a guy whose brain often moves faster than his mouth can gracefully keep up with. The lateral, loosely-associative, kinesthetic nature of his thought processes.
RayV:
1. The snark, the peerless snark. ("Shoot the other leg.")
2. The eyes. Even the staunchest RayK partisans must admit that that Detective Armani's got some pretty, pretty eyes.
3. The sense of a man placed, deeply and richly, in a familial, cultural context. Like Fraser, he's strongly attached to place, but a lot of his place is about people and culture rather than geography.
4. The absolute and unshakeable nature of his loyalty, once given. The sense that once you're in with him, you're in, no questions, end of story, until death.
5. The way that he has a lot of basic decency, and he works so hard to cover it up, deny it. The endless fronting, and the rock-solid core that lies under it.
6. The exasperation. This is akin to, but distinct from, the snark. His exasperation is a production of near-operatic calibre. (I love it, too, that it leaves Fraser so entirely unfazed. *g*)
7. Totally apart from all his smooth-operator Don-Juan fronting, I get the sense that he's one of those guys who really, truly likes women. In every sense, sexually, emotionally, intellectually. Unlike Fraser and RayK, I don't think he ever has any trouble telling where a woman's coming from, what's going on with her.
8. The grey areas in him. I love it that we're never really entirely clear just how clean a cop he is, and that we can't help suspecting he's capable of some dirty dealing.
9. Those moments when his deeply-buried sense of shame comes to the surface; e.g.,in The Deal when he's telling Fraser about Zuko and the basketball. (I have a whole essay somewhere in my head about RayK as guilt-driven, RayV as shame-driven.)
10. The sort of innocent hedonistic delight he takes in the good things of this world--the clothes, the cars, the money, the trappings of luxury. There's something very endearing about it, especially since he's willing to let it all get shredded at regular intervals by Fraser (though not without a lot of bitching *g*).
OK, I really *must* go do laundry now, dammit.
RayK:
1. The way he moves. OK, I should start out with something deeper-like, but my god, the way he moves.
2. In particular, the truculent, do-not-fuck-with-me shoulder-roll/head-tilt. It feels odd to me when I see CKR do that in other roles, because it's quintessential RayK to me.
3. The bracelet, and more particularly, scenes where he's holding a gun and wearing the bracelet and they're sort of glinting together. Guh.
4. The eternal-kid element, the playfulness and the sort of innocence he's retained, under the tough-guy surface.
5. The sense that about a tenth of an inch below the tough-guy surface, he is so looking for something to believe in, something he can cling to as proof that the universe is capable of being better.
6. His ferocity, evidenced both in the sudden outbursts of violence, and in his sort of wolfishly-glittering moments of threat (e.g., the "We're good to go" bit with Warfield).
7. The seductive flirtatiousness he is capable of unleashing on occasion, e.g. when he's back in Stella's apartment in Strange Bedfellows just before Fraser shows up. World of guh.
8. His rapport with Dief, which really feels easy and affectionate on both sides.
9. His emotional transparency, the way that he's willing to let it all bleed through. (I can't help recollecting Ces's "emotional gymnast" thing from Eight Sessions in this regard.)
10. The way you can tell that, far from being stupid, this is a guy whose brain often moves faster than his mouth can gracefully keep up with. The lateral, loosely-associative, kinesthetic nature of his thought processes.
RayV:
1. The snark, the peerless snark. ("Shoot the other leg.")
2. The eyes. Even the staunchest RayK partisans must admit that that Detective Armani's got some pretty, pretty eyes.
3. The sense of a man placed, deeply and richly, in a familial, cultural context. Like Fraser, he's strongly attached to place, but a lot of his place is about people and culture rather than geography.
4. The absolute and unshakeable nature of his loyalty, once given. The sense that once you're in with him, you're in, no questions, end of story, until death.
5. The way that he has a lot of basic decency, and he works so hard to cover it up, deny it. The endless fronting, and the rock-solid core that lies under it.
6. The exasperation. This is akin to, but distinct from, the snark. His exasperation is a production of near-operatic calibre. (I love it, too, that it leaves Fraser so entirely unfazed. *g*)
7. Totally apart from all his smooth-operator Don-Juan fronting, I get the sense that he's one of those guys who really, truly likes women. In every sense, sexually, emotionally, intellectually. Unlike Fraser and RayK, I don't think he ever has any trouble telling where a woman's coming from, what's going on with her.
8. The grey areas in him. I love it that we're never really entirely clear just how clean a cop he is, and that we can't help suspecting he's capable of some dirty dealing.
9. Those moments when his deeply-buried sense of shame comes to the surface; e.g.,in The Deal when he's telling Fraser about Zuko and the basketball. (I have a whole essay somewhere in my head about RayK as guilt-driven, RayV as shame-driven.)
10. The sort of innocent hedonistic delight he takes in the good things of this world--the clothes, the cars, the money, the trappings of luxury. There's something very endearing about it, especially since he's willing to let it all get shredded at regular intervals by Fraser (though not without a lot of bitching *g*).
OK, I really *must* go do laundry now, dammit.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 01:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 01:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 02:08 pm (UTC)5. The sense that about a tenth of an inch below the tough-guy surface, he is so looking for something to believe in, something he can cling to as proof that the universe is capable of being better.
That is so RayK to me and is one of the things that really makes me believe in the F/K relationship.
I would like to hear more about the shame vs guilt.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 02:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 02:25 pm (UTC)And, hey, if you were to dig up your guilt/shame thoughts, I'd be fascinated to read them.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 03:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-25 08:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-26 05:33 am (UTC)I just wanted to call attention to that one, because I've noticed it too. Although I suppose it speaks as much to CKR's abilities as an actor and an improviser that he can respond on the fly to whatever the dog actor is doing and not break character.
2 Rays, no waiting
Date: 2003-10-26 07:33 am (UTC)I love the juxtaposition of his lined, old-man face and his *huge* hungry blue eyes. When he looks at Fraser and you know he's just hoping to hear good things from him. And he moves like a 20 yr old kid; loose-jointed, springy, with swing.
5. The way that he has a lot of basic decency, and he works so hard to cover it up, deny it. The endless fronting, and the rock-solid core that lies under it.
It's really one of my favorite things about him. He's made this decision to be a cop, an upstanding guy, but his dad hated cops, and he spends most of his time pretending he's not a nice guy, because he doesn't want people to fuck with him. I'm a good guy, I'm a bad-ass, I'm a cop, I'm Italian-don't-fuck-with-me.
Mmm, Rayyyyyyyyys.