Meme The First!
Aug. 9th, 2011 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
samanthahirrI've never done a meme before. Let's see how it goes! Via ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arsenicjade's journal:
Pick one of my fics, and I'll give you three details that didn't make it into the fic. Background canon, deleted scenes, or a look into the future. My choice, but if you have a specific question you can ask it in your request.
arsenicjade's journal: Pick one of my fics, and I'll give you three details that didn't make it into the fic. Background canon, deleted scenes, or a look into the future. My choice, but if you have a specific question you can ask it in your request.
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Date: 2011-08-10 01:16 pm (UTC)Diptych - Meet the Villains!
Date: 2011-08-11 02:10 am (UTC)Let's start with the villains!
The true villains of the fic are a crew of Kazakh* mercenaries hell bent on retrieving the diptych. But they don't actually appear on screen until the last quarter of the story. So what were they doing while Adam was busy making deals, and Kris was stalking him around town?
* I know I call them Russians in the fic, but that's because there was no way to exposition something as specific as Kazakhs. Adam assumed they were Russians, and I had to settle for that. But trust me, they're most definitely Kazakhs, with the almond eyes and the super-hot black market for Western art.
Sinclair took a contract from a Kazakh collector to steal the Matheron Diptych. He cashed the check, stole the piece, and then had second thoughts about handing it over to the collector. Scared of his backer's ruthlessness (and penchant for cleaning up "loose ends"), Sinclair betrayed his partner-in-crime Firth by making a quick sale of the diptych to Adam, and then going to ground until everything blew over. Unfortunately for Sinclair, he didn't hide well enough.
The diptych's theft was well publicized. And when Sinclair failed to respond to calls and e-mails for an entire week following the heist, the collector sent a team of mercenaries to retrieve the Northern Renaissance masterpiece he'd rightfully paid for. On the same Saturday that Kris was blowing Adam in the John Varvatos dressing room, the Kazakhs caught and interrogated Sinclair. Sinclair was no hero—he gave up Adam's name and address in under 10 minutes. But this wasn't just about retrieval, this was also about revenge. They tortured him for hours before finally dumping his body where it wouldn't be found until after they'd left the country.
On Sunday, while Kris and the FBI were tailing Adam separately to the Cove Neck estate auction, the Kazakhs checked out Adam's apartment…and spotted the FBI surveillance van down the block. Shit. They assumed Lambert had made a deal with the Feds and was already under the FBI's protection. They spent Monday and Tuesday tailing Adam, trying to look for an opening when his protection detail was distracted. On Tuesday, they followed him for several blocks until their cab was pulled over for holding up traffic. Boss and Grigory even paid for an expensive dinner at Nobu, sitting at a table right next to Lambert and some prissy businessman. But someone from the FBI was always watching Lambert. They pulled back to formulate a new strategy.
(You see where I'm going here, right? Adam thought there were eyes everywhere…and there were! It wasn't just Kris and the FBI tailing him around the city—the Kazakhs were out there, too! OH, THE IRONY! And as much as Adam resented the FBI's constant surveillance, that surveillance was all that stood between him and a nasty, painful death at the hands of ruthless killers. DOUBLE IRONY!)
On Friday, Alexander is sent undercover to the Wilkstone Gala—an exclusive event with no FBI presence—and almost manages to get Lambert to leave with him. He's foiled by an FBI agent who comes out of nowhere, kicks his ass, and drags Lambert out of the party. Grigory and the Boss are pissed off, and send Alexander in for Plan B: hanging around Lambert's favorite coffee shop. Plan B pays off when Lambert's boyfriend waltzes in on Saturday and tries to hire Alexander (as "Thomas") to run a con with him. That same day, the FBI got a call from New York Homicide about a body of one James Sinclair, known art thief.
On Sunday, Alexander infiltrates Lambert's home despite the FBI surveillance team outside, and he comes ready to handle the retrieval portion of the assignment himself…when he gets jumped by the same damn FBI agent. He reports back to Boss and Grigory that the FBI have agents inside Lambert's home, so infiltration is no longer a viable plan. But no one seems to be protecting Lambert's boyfriend….
And Brad becomes the new target for a team of ruthless, international mercenaries.
Re: Diptych - Meet the Villains!
Date: 2011-08-11 06:06 am (UTC)Re: Diptych - Meet the Villains!
Date: 2011-08-11 12:02 pm (UTC)Re: Diptych - Meet the Villains!
Date: 2011-08-12 02:28 am (UTC)Re: Diptych - Meet the Villains!
Date: 2011-08-12 02:29 am (UTC)Diptych - Adam has ~Issues
Date: 2011-08-11 02:14 am (UTC)But here's the thing: Kris didn't retain (or understand) which type of NPD Adam seemed to resemble. The FBI's assessment isn't actually wrong. I almost included the following definition as an end note to help the reader understand Adam's behavior and mindset after the fact. (Remember, he's only borderline.)
Compensatory Narcissist – "The origins that undergird their overtly narcissistic behaviors derive from an underlying sense of insecurity and weakness, rather than from genuine feelings of self-confidence and high self-esteem. …seek to fill their sense of emptiness by creating an illusion of superiority and by building up an image of high self-worth. …these narcissists are prone to feel shamed and humiliated, especially hyperanxious and vulnerable to the judgments of others. They 'know' that they are frauds at some level, pretenders who seek to convey impressions of being of higher standing than they know is truly the case. Despite this awareness, they do not act shy and hesitant, as would seem likely. Instead, they submerge and cover up their deep sense of inadequacy and deficiency by pseudo-arrogance and superficial grandiosity." - Millon, T. (1996). Disorders of personality: DSM-IV and beyond (2nd Edition). New York. John Wiley & Sons.
Adam's borderline disorder developed when he was young. In high school, he felt like an outcast, unattractive and unloved. He started dealing drugs in high school so he could feel popular; he became the go-to guy everyone was happy to know. He moved to Los Angeles and fell in with a small-time fence who introduced him to a higher paying, higher class of addiction: art and antiquities. Present day, Adam strives to be attractive and important to everyone, to be special and memorable on a daily basis, but deep down he still considers himself unlovable trash. He's terrified that Kris will realize Adam's a fraud and turn his back on him, like Kris did with the Church.
Unfortunately, this isn't a disorder that love alone can cure. Adam is still uptight about his personal appearance around Brad—who already knows all about Adam's self-esteem issues. Kris's love won't magically fix Adam (in fact, it initially triggers even more panic and self-doubt), but in time Adam will be able to relax a little more around Kris, and Brad and Kris will be Adam's safe space where he doesn't have to try quite as hard.
Compensatory NPD is a fascinating disorder, with the subject compensating for extreme insecurity with polar-opposite extroversion. Writing this complex narrator was a challenge for me, and I hope I was able to create a character you enjoyed reading. If you enjoyed Adam's character in the fic, please don't let this clinical assessment change that!
Re: Diptych - Adam has ~Issues
Date: 2011-08-11 06:10 am (UTC)(Random - I used to work for the publisher of that book you referenced, LOL.)