>> The approach I'm taking is more that there are various hormonal impulses are laid on top of everyone, regardless of orientation; most people operate in a "baseline beta" mode, and then there are about 10% of the population who are "baseline alpha" and another 15% who are "baseline omega", but everyone can potentially experience swings which are either tied to various biological functions or to various stimuli. <<
That makes sense.
>> So, in the scene I'm toying with, I have a lesbian woman who operates in a baseline alpha mode, and then ends up unexpectedly saddled with a man who operates in baseline beta mode but is experiencing a traumatic omega swing and attendant heat. <<
That's a good conflict.
>> And the woman in question experiences an arousal – but not a sexual arousal. It's an intensely visceral and compelling urge, but it's more on the possessive/protective end of things and goes nowhere near her libido. <<
I really like the possessive/protective aspect of alpha, and would enjoy seeing more of it outside a purely sexual context. I think I've only seen a few stories where the alpha refrained from sex because the omega (sensibly, in negative circumstances) didn't want it. So they did something else instead to be helpful.
>> but he's also experiencing a bunch of dysphoria because he's never experienced an omega shift before. <<
Yeah, that's pretty much inevitable. People are weirded by new things relating to their identity. I would look at what causes a traumatic shift. I suspect that someone would shift alpha if they felt a need to fight, because that's the alpha mode. It could give them the strength needed to win. Conversely, they might shift omega if they felt a need to defend -- say, if violence was unavailable or counterproductive -- or if they felt a desire to be protected. This could improve defensive abilities, attract help, or impair the offender's willingness to harm them. Different strategies for different moods and contexts.
But of course it would be upsetting if your subconscious felt omega would be more valuable, when your conscious mind didn't understand or accept that and wasn't used to the feelings that came along with it. Coaching someone through that -- and then the heat, which is even worse, especially the first time under such awful circumstances -- would be very challenging.
>> Which is the sort of snarly tangle of dynamics that appeals to me, really, where everyone is pushed a little out of both their own comfort zones and the zones of what you'd expect from people in that sort of situation. <<
Me too. I would read the hell out of that. Let me know if you write it?
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branchandroot
Hmm...
Date: 2014-04-06 09:16 am (UTC)That makes sense.
>> So, in the scene I'm toying with, I have a lesbian woman who operates in a baseline alpha mode, and then ends up unexpectedly saddled with a man who operates in baseline beta mode but is experiencing a traumatic omega swing and attendant heat. <<
That's a good conflict.
>> And the woman in question experiences an arousal – but not a sexual arousal. It's an intensely visceral and compelling urge, but it's more on the possessive/protective end of things and goes nowhere near her libido. <<
I really like the possessive/protective aspect of alpha, and would enjoy seeing more of it outside a purely sexual context. I think I've only seen a few stories where the alpha refrained from sex because the omega (sensibly, in negative circumstances) didn't want it. So they did something else instead to be helpful.
>> but he's also experiencing a bunch of dysphoria because he's never experienced an omega shift before. <<
Yeah, that's pretty much inevitable. People are weirded by new things relating to their identity. I would look at what causes a traumatic shift. I suspect that someone would shift alpha if they felt a need to fight, because that's the alpha mode. It could give them the strength needed to win. Conversely, they might shift omega if they felt a need to defend -- say, if violence was unavailable or counterproductive -- or if they felt a desire to be protected. This could improve defensive abilities, attract help, or impair the offender's willingness to harm them. Different strategies for different moods and contexts.
But of course it would be upsetting if your subconscious felt omega would be more valuable, when your conscious mind didn't understand or accept that and wasn't used to the feelings that came along with it. Coaching someone through that -- and then the heat, which is even worse, especially the first time under such awful circumstances -- would be very challenging.
>> Which is the sort of snarly tangle of dynamics that appeals to me, really, where everyone is pushed a little out of both their own comfort zones and the zones of what you'd expect from people in that sort of situation. <<
Me too. I would read the hell out of that. Let me know if you write it?