Richard and Nathaniel... I sort of pride myself on being the first to come up with this little 'pairing'. If it has existed in fanfic before, I haven't managed to find it. If I'm claiming false credit, then please, let me know. In any case, I know it's not common, and that was one of the things that made it so appealing to me.
In my mind, LKH had been setting the stage for this for a long time. We all know that Richard is a closet sadist - Anita has put that one together, and in the Harlequin, it was pretty much 'out of the closet' even. But the other thing that I always noticed was how aggressive Richard was towards the young leopard, how vehement his mere presence could make the Ulfric. He called Nathaniel a freak, and always made it sound despicable that Anita could love such a creature. It came across as hatred, but I chose to read between the lines.
What was one of the many things Richard was talented at? Denial, and self-loathing. We hate in others what we hate in ourselves. In my mind, Richard saw what Nathaniel was as something defective, broken. Not only did he have no respect for a were that was not dominant, but he thought that the leopard was damaged goods - finding pleasure in the BDSM scene. There was a certain element of jealously at play too. Not only was he jealous of Nathaniel sleeping with and living with Anita, and them sharing some semblance of a 'normal', happy life together; but he was also jealous of Nathaniel for being able to embrace that side of himself and be happy, where Richard would not let himself.
As I said, I thought Laurell had set this up beautifully, and
kept waiting for it to happen, but as was perhaps destined, it didn't. She was either blind to it (thought it was so obvious to me) or she didn't have the guts to follow through, even though it would solve so many character issues, in my opinion. So, I had to fix it. In part one, there wasn't even a subtle hint of what I was planning. I decided that it would be too early, that readers would naturally reject it, so it wasn't until Part 2 that my subtle manipulations began. It started with Richard being protective of Nathaniel, with Nathaniel commenting on how Richard had that innate 'topness' about him. It went off without a hitch, and I was very pleased.
My goals with Queen of the Dead are numerous, but at the top of the list is evolving the characters, helping them to grow beyond the stunted versions that are stuck in Anita's current super-power vacuum. Richard was tricky. LKH has done a very good job of making him very easy to dislike, and in some cases, even hate. This always frustrated me to no end because she seemed to have picked the ugliest path she possibly could have for Richard, and I mourned the loss of all the things I had originally loved about him. But starting from where canon left off, his changes would have to be, a) gradual and b) logical under the conditions presented. Starting precisely from canon would have been nigh impossible, so I cheated. In the three years that Anita was gone, Richard made peace with being a wolf, with being Ulfric, and with being bound to Jean-Claude. With those three things down, there were still tons of personal issues to address, but the feat of growing Richard up was at least within reach.
By Part III, several things have happened. Richard has stayed with Anita and the others, grown comfortable with the other weres, and the trials in Part II had brought them together as a group. At this point, it only required a catalyst to bring his deeper instincts to the surface. That catalyst was Angeline. When faced with another dominant who saw and valued Nathaniel for what he was, Richard's shackles went up, and for the first time, he might have had an inkling of exactly what his repressed feelings towards the younger man were.
When Nathaniel came back from the House of Pain, smelling of a rival, of violence and sex, of satisfaction, and with her mark left on him, it simply flipped Richard's final switch. In my mind, this was a huge turning point for Richard. I mourn the fact that I could/can only portray it through Anita's eyes, and even though readers ask for more, it is hard to show from within the constraints of the series. But in taking on Nathaniel, Richard accepted the last part of himself that was repressed, and was effectively free of his own trappings of guilt. At that point in the story, we see a complete turn-around in Richard. He's calmer, happier, and just all-around not a pain in the ass anymore. There is still enough 'Richardness' for me to keep him in character - but I have to say, I breathed a sigh of relief at that point - with most of the hard work done. After the remaining sexual tension with Anita was brought to fruition, I gave myself a pat on the back for finally bringing that stubborn man around!
How does Nathaniel feel about all of this? When Anita, Damian and Nathaniel left, our young leopard was still deeply in love. I've always prized Nathaniel in LKH's books, because he brought an element (ironically) of purity to all the crap (yes, crap!) that happened with the ardeur. I always admired Anita's restraint with him, and was practically applauding when she finally gave in. But besides that, I always had a soft spot for the poor, abused stripper. In my mind, Anita was his first love - the kind of love that you never really get over.
Even though it hasn't been written yet, the three years between DM and Part I are very clear in my mind. During this time, Anita, Nathaniel and Damian became very close. They were lovers, friends, family. But there reached a point where Anita's bond with Damian grew into something deeper. This turning point depended greatly on the incidents with Belle Morte, but was a long time in the making. In short, Anita reached a depth of feeling with Damian that caused her feelings for Nathaniel to change. When she was no longer his lover, Anita's love for Nathaniel evolved, into something closer to parental. In fact, I see them in Iceland, living very much as a family, with Anita and Damian like parents.
Nathaniel is near and dear to my heart, and though I was happy, and sure that he was content with the spot I had given him, there was something he ached for, that even Anita could not provide. Laurell has repeatedly denied Nathaniel his greatest pleasure, and it has always bothered me. I wanted to give him that much, at least. The idea of Angeline's 'Dommeness' was born from that intention. But what I realized when outlining the course of the whole series, was that a much more permanent fixture was available to Nathaniel, and unlike Laurell, I would not deny him. 'They'll either love it, or they'll hate it," I thought to myself. Thanks to what LKH had previously set up, and to my gradual personality shifts, it seems to have been well received.
So what's going on with them, you ask? At this point, in Iceland, Richard and Nathaniel have a good foundation of friendship, based on mutual love and trust. Richard cares for, protects and tops Nathaniel; Nathaniel cares for, serves, and bottoms for Richard. It's a beautiful, if not wholly sexual thing. Are they doing it? No. While there's no doubt that at some point the bisexual Nathaniel will fall totally in love with Richard, the Ulfric remains stubbornly tied to his old ideals, and to his strict feelings for Anita. But bear in mind that they will live this way for a LONG time. If anyone could 'straighten' our the stubborn wolf, it would be our little leopard. In the meantime, they will find a happy medium. Nathaniel will finally have some of his needs met, and Richard will be much less uptight.
Why can't Nathaniel have the whole thing? This is something I struggled with, until a very wise and knowledgeable friend pointed out something I thought I would share, to ease your minds. Nathaniel is a masochist. Pain comes in many forms. Perhaps being in love with two people, and watching them together, but being forever on the outside of that final bond would be torturous to some. But to someone who relishes pain as if it's pleasure... such a deep torment might prove exquisite.
In my mind, LKH had been setting the stage for this for a long time. We all know that Richard is a closet sadist - Anita has put that one together, and in the Harlequin, it was pretty much 'out of the closet' even. But the other thing that I always noticed was how aggressive Richard was towards the young leopard, how vehement his mere presence could make the Ulfric. He called Nathaniel a freak, and always made it sound despicable that Anita could love such a creature. It came across as hatred, but I chose to read between the lines.
What was one of the many things Richard was talented at? Denial, and self-loathing. We hate in others what we hate in ourselves. In my mind, Richard saw what Nathaniel was as something defective, broken. Not only did he have no respect for a were that was not dominant, but he thought that the leopard was damaged goods - finding pleasure in the BDSM scene. There was a certain element of jealously at play too. Not only was he jealous of Nathaniel sleeping with and living with Anita, and them sharing some semblance of a 'normal', happy life together; but he was also jealous of Nathaniel for being able to embrace that side of himself and be happy, where Richard would not let himself.
As I said, I thought Laurell had set this up beautifully, and
kept waiting for it to happen, but as was perhaps destined, it didn't. She was either blind to it (thought it was so obvious to me) or she didn't have the guts to follow through, even though it would solve so many character issues, in my opinion. So, I had to fix it. In part one, there wasn't even a subtle hint of what I was planning. I decided that it would be too early, that readers would naturally reject it, so it wasn't until Part 2 that my subtle manipulations began. It started with Richard being protective of Nathaniel, with Nathaniel commenting on how Richard had that innate 'topness' about him. It went off without a hitch, and I was very pleased.
My goals with Queen of the Dead are numerous, but at the top of the list is evolving the characters, helping them to grow beyond the stunted versions that are stuck in Anita's current super-power vacuum. Richard was tricky. LKH has done a very good job of making him very easy to dislike, and in some cases, even hate. This always frustrated me to no end because she seemed to have picked the ugliest path she possibly could have for Richard, and I mourned the loss of all the things I had originally loved about him. But starting from where canon left off, his changes would have to be, a) gradual and b) logical under the conditions presented. Starting precisely from canon would have been nigh impossible, so I cheated. In the three years that Anita was gone, Richard made peace with being a wolf, with being Ulfric, and with being bound to Jean-Claude. With those three things down, there were still tons of personal issues to address, but the feat of growing Richard up was at least within reach.
By Part III, several things have happened. Richard has stayed with Anita and the others, grown comfortable with the other weres, and the trials in Part II had brought them together as a group. At this point, it only required a catalyst to bring his deeper instincts to the surface. That catalyst was Angeline. When faced with another dominant who saw and valued Nathaniel for what he was, Richard's shackles went up, and for the first time, he might have had an inkling of exactly what his repressed feelings towards the younger man were.
When Nathaniel came back from the House of Pain, smelling of a rival, of violence and sex, of satisfaction, and with her mark left on him, it simply flipped Richard's final switch. In my mind, this was a huge turning point for Richard. I mourn the fact that I could/can only portray it through Anita's eyes, and even though readers ask for more, it is hard to show from within the constraints of the series. But in taking on Nathaniel, Richard accepted the last part of himself that was repressed, and was effectively free of his own trappings of guilt. At that point in the story, we see a complete turn-around in Richard. He's calmer, happier, and just all-around not a pain in the ass anymore. There is still enough 'Richardness' for me to keep him in character - but I have to say, I breathed a sigh of relief at that point - with most of the hard work done. After the remaining sexual tension with Anita was brought to fruition, I gave myself a pat on the back for finally bringing that stubborn man around!
How does Nathaniel feel about all of this? When Anita, Damian and Nathaniel left, our young leopard was still deeply in love. I've always prized Nathaniel in LKH's books, because he brought an element (ironically) of purity to all the crap (yes, crap!) that happened with the ardeur. I always admired Anita's restraint with him, and was practically applauding when she finally gave in. But besides that, I always had a soft spot for the poor, abused stripper. In my mind, Anita was his first love - the kind of love that you never really get over.
Even though it hasn't been written yet, the three years between DM and Part I are very clear in my mind. During this time, Anita, Nathaniel and Damian became very close. They were lovers, friends, family. But there reached a point where Anita's bond with Damian grew into something deeper. This turning point depended greatly on the incidents with Belle Morte, but was a long time in the making. In short, Anita reached a depth of feeling with Damian that caused her feelings for Nathaniel to change. When she was no longer his lover, Anita's love for Nathaniel evolved, into something closer to parental. In fact, I see them in Iceland, living very much as a family, with Anita and Damian like parents.
Nathaniel is near and dear to my heart, and though I was happy, and sure that he was content with the spot I had given him, there was something he ached for, that even Anita could not provide. Laurell has repeatedly denied Nathaniel his greatest pleasure, and it has always bothered me. I wanted to give him that much, at least. The idea of Angeline's 'Dommeness' was born from that intention. But what I realized when outlining the course of the whole series, was that a much more permanent fixture was available to Nathaniel, and unlike Laurell, I would not deny him. 'They'll either love it, or they'll hate it," I thought to myself. Thanks to what LKH had previously set up, and to my gradual personality shifts, it seems to have been well received.
So what's going on with them, you ask? At this point, in Iceland, Richard and Nathaniel have a good foundation of friendship, based on mutual love and trust. Richard cares for, protects and tops Nathaniel; Nathaniel cares for, serves, and bottoms for Richard. It's a beautiful, if not wholly sexual thing. Are they doing it? No. While there's no doubt that at some point the bisexual Nathaniel will fall totally in love with Richard, the Ulfric remains stubbornly tied to his old ideals, and to his strict feelings for Anita. But bear in mind that they will live this way for a LONG time. If anyone could 'straighten' our the stubborn wolf, it would be our little leopard. In the meantime, they will find a happy medium. Nathaniel will finally have some of his needs met, and Richard will be much less uptight.
Why can't Nathaniel have the whole thing? This is something I struggled with, until a very wise and knowledgeable friend pointed out something I thought I would share, to ease your minds. Nathaniel is a masochist. Pain comes in many forms. Perhaps being in love with two people, and watching them together, but being forever on the outside of that final bond would be torturous to some. But to someone who relishes pain as if it's pleasure... such a deep torment might prove exquisite.
