So I'm taking my first crack at a one shot kind of story fairly soon. The two characters are master thieves (you knew that already) and are well aware of the other's activities around the world. Both of them have never gotten caught. How do you think they would perceive eachother, if they weren't aware they were meeting the other one? Both characters 'dress up' while on the prowl, so the general public doesn't know what they look like. The only thing I know about these two characters (at the moment) is that the Man is a "right and proper" Englishman (he's kind of a parody of james bond) and the Woman is a Kitsune, only people who believe in magic can actually see her tail and ears though when she's 'hiding' them.
It depends on their personalities. Maybe one of them is narcissistic and refuses to acknowledge that anybody even comes close to his or her own level of accomplishment, and maybe the other one is good-natured and generous of spirit, ready to give props where they're due? I could see a story where both are the same, either a meeting of two 'gentleman rogue' types who profusely compliment each other like a couple of Victorian gentlemen, or neither is willing to concede anything at all to the other. It also depends on the kind of story you're writing, the tone of it. If for instance it's a meeting of appreciative congenial souls who decide to sit together at a cafe and exchange compliments like Victorian gentlemen, I could see it being told in an expansive and humanistic Omniscient or Objective POV that treats all people warmly and has a humorous slant. I'm thinking of the Ocean's 11 movies here.
Kind recognizes kind. Each master thief will have a certain bearing, a nonchalant grace that even the most clever disguise cannot hide from someone who knows what to look for. Each will notice the other and mark him instantly. Such is the way of mastery.
They can perceive each other however you want, as long as you create a good enough reason and backstory for them to do so. They could be rivals, friends, deadly enemies, long-distance lovers etc. etc.
My first thought was similar to this, more along the lines of a story where they initially ignore each other but are silently jealous of the attention other men and women receive from their counterpart. So they view unlocking each other's desire as the ultimate safe to crack. Maybe something like 'Entrapment' but I'm sure that's not what the OP has in mind.
If they're in opposition, and they probably should be even if they're meant to become friends, their attitudes should be in conflict. I would think the woman is secretive while perhaps the guy is more extravagant (mystical "invisible" being vs Bond). So she would be unimpressed with his behavior (she finds it transparently gauche), while he would find something very alluring about her (he's not sure what). Then I would reverse their outward behavior on their feelings. He pretends not to notice her while she wants to learn his methods. So you get this conflicting repulsion and attraction. That opens up dozens of scenes, maybe an entire plot.
I don't think there is one universal answer to this question simply because people are different and react to other people differently. Most masters of their craft would respect a fellow master but if this person is, say, a very petty narcissist or something, they may only feel overwhelming envy, irrational disdain and a desperate need prove themselves superior by dominating the other. That said, if they are both reasonably emotionally and mentally healthy, I would presume they would regard each other with a fair deal of professional admiration. There might be a sense of rivalry, especially if they find themselves targeting the same mark, but without malice. I'd like to think they'd be, for lack of a better term, sportsmanlike about it. They might even genuinely enjoy being challenged by someone they recognize as a true artist of their own chosen field. Granted, a lot of this is due to by personal preference for principled "gentleman thieves." I've always thought that if you're going to be a criminal, you should at least be a criminal with class.
The goal of this story is a simple 'opposites attract' romance, but I thought it'd be more fun to write the conflict if it was two different types of thieves (who steal different types of product) and the idea that Magic Conflicts with Science sometimes just adds more fuel to the proverbial 'fire'. That's actually some sound advice to get the ball rolling, it does open up a lot of scene potential even for a chance encounter at a bank. I think the goal with their initial interaction would be to show the reader how awkward they are socially (they don't really 'talk' until they notice that the other one is reading a news article about sightings of the opposing one) and even that is a bit different. I think the trickiest thing will be switching prospectives. Easier to do when they're in different rooms doing different things. I struggle with swapping out prospective when it's multiple characters in the same room though. I typically like to wait until the character I want to switch to has said something before I go narrating their thoughts, is that how it's usually done or is that what's called head hopping?
That sounds fantastic to me. I was hoping that's where you were going with the premise. Start them in opposition and then they slowly come together. Maybe they try to team up in the biggest heist ever, they fail, but end up winning each other, because that was really the prize all along.
I was thinking that the big heist would end up being a trap for both of them (the person who set the trap knew they would get de-focused and fight) they do wind up getting caught by the mastermind but the mastermind doesn't expect them to work together. Their affection blossoms after they learn (by teaching) that their "bag of tricks" aren't so different after all. I have it (mostly) planned out, but I need to figure out how they behave outside of their job for their first interaction (hence the question ) since both of them have a 'work face'. I think the only thing I know for certain is they're both socially awkward in public, though in different ways. I haven't even *named* these two yet lol I also kind of have a 'second' 'part' with their daughter too, but I haven't decided on a story for it yet. The daughter's going to be an interesting one because she's a weird mix of both her parents faults/positives. For all my story ideas I'm always good at coming up with the middle bits and sometimes the end bits come first, never does the beginning come first lol this idea was a simple enough story that the general plot happened all at once for a change.
I've seen many encounters between people who are the tops in their field. Their attitude toward each other may be rivalry, either jocular or serious, and there may be some question or concern in their minds about what the other guy knows that they don't know. But for the most part, their attitudes are ones of the greatest respect. Perhaps that's because they have some perspective on what their opposite number has gone through to achieve mastery, because it resembles their own paths. And by appreciating their rival's skill, they're somehow validating their impression of their own skills. But the respect is there. I've seen it dozens of time.
