#omega required

[coricatchthorne]

In exploring the landscape of queer, self-pub erotica (which I will be joining MONDAY!!), I came across several people recommending “Omega Required” by @dessa-lux. It was a fun read, as a newbie to all things alpha, beta, and/or omega. Minor spoilers so I can talk about some stuff I liked! 

There’s a lot of softness in this book; enough that it’d be easy to reduce it to comforting gay werewolf fluff (which it has plenty of, and we love it. Baths. Dinners. Cuddles. Playing tag with the neighbor kids.) But there are teeth, too. We find out that our omega lead, Rory, is traumatized right away; sick, coming out of a string of bad relationships, and lacking loved ones to support him. By contrast, alpha Beau seems like a fairly put-together fellow; he’s a sweetheart, he’s working to be a doctor, he’s got savings and a plan. But Beau’s also devoid of a supportive community, and has his own trauma: personal, familial, and societal. All this makes it very hard for Beau to ask for help, which is both relatable and ultimately drives the book’s central conflict.

The worldbuilding here impressed me. A lot of thought is given to how werewolves fit into the larger world, how people think of them, and what rules, systems, and organizations have arisen in response to their existence, without that feeling obtrusive or distracting. This also feeds into the story’s focus on community and marginalization, and how those things impact intimate connections on all scales: with lovers, family, neighbors, colleagues, or even patients. There’s a lot about internalized self-hatred as a maladaptive protection mechanism, and the ways it impedes our ability to build and nourish those intimate connections. And there’s a lot about the ways in which partnership is built, including both leads needing to cultivate connections outside of their romantic relationship in order to have a stable foundation to build a connection upon.

Also, there’s some tasty hot sex. The biological essentialism of the world and the werewolf nature of the leads allows some fun horny bits; no heats (that’s a plot point), but lots of moon-related urges and our leads navigating the ways those impact their budding relationship. I liked how this let the author push the characters together physically sooner than they would have done otherwise, and showed how that both helped and hindered their connection. This gave some welcome onscreen spice while still letting their romance have a slow-burn feel, despite starting off with a literal marriage of convenience.

Like I said, this was a first for me, but this book made me want to venture deeper, both into Dessa’s catalogue and the world of wolves and alphas and omegas and more! Check it out here!: https://books2read.com/u/3yEDRV

[spaceflower07]

them three years into their marriage

[cheesenames]

one of the things i found really interesting about jedi quest, and especially the last quest, was the tension between obi-wan’s (real or perceived) duty to the order and his responsibility as anakin’s guardian and teacher. like he’s very capable of (correctly) saying “anakin isn’t ready for this responsibility” when it’s something that would only affect anakin, but he’d never turn down a mission on the grounds of anakin not being ready. all the reasons not to fast-track anakin’s knighthood are also reasons to ask if they can please send someone else to sith hell planet, but obi-wan won’t let himself think about that until it’s already too late

[tumblweeds-omegaverse]

assorted chatter about possible dynamic... uhhh...dynamics?

what if the dynamics balance differently than assumed?

omegas nest; they create shelter from what they gathed in the world around them, moving individual pieces to create a stable whole.

alphas burrow; they create protection out of the world around them, altering the raw materials they find into new shapes.

betas den; they locate safety and utilize it to keep threats away or themselves hidden, adding onto what they find.

so, what if there's a tradition that you need all of them, working together, to build a home?

the beta to scout out locations and ensure the footprint is solid. the alpha to add on and alter it in order to suit the group's needs. the omega to ensure that there's space for creature comforts and that things are neither too open nor too exposed.

sure, it's completely possible to have a functioning and even cozy dwelling with a dynamic missing...but it means taking on more of the work, learning how to do it, using knowledge and practice to fill in gaps that instinct doesn't cover. or calling on friends or family to help out.

"these blinds are fine, but you work nights right? blackout curtains could help you sleep better after sunrise."

"huh, bet i could put up shelving here and you'd get more storage space."

"eventually we could take down this wall, open up the floor plan some. what do you think?"

there could be a similar view towards work or school or family life too.

sure, the parents might be two alphas, but they're surrounded by betas and omegas that they trust. people who can give their kids advice if they don't present alpha, who can add their insights and support when things are challenging.

maybe the core of a friend group is all beta youngsters, but their siblings or cousins won't let them be ignored or bullied. they might not even notice people are ready to help until someone does step in.

okay, so that omega lives alone and has found ways to make it through heats without anybody needing to help. but that doesn't mean the elderly alpha/beta pair across the street can't drop off some food at the door or keep an eye out for trouble.

(whoops I've veered into "it takes a village" territory again)

anyways!

instead of making a setting where alpha/omega pairs are admired and elevated above all else...why not make the ideal an alpha/beta/omega version of rock/paper/scissors?

(or to use another classic, fire/water/grass)

you can add more dynamics too!

(wood > earth > water > fire > metal with a dynamic to match each?)

if you like there to be opposites, why not add even more pairs?

(ex: fire / water, but also wind / earth! or metal / wood! maybe with additional interactions between the non-opposing ones?)

currently considering doing a dynamics square situation cause of this!

(I have a 4 dynamics setting but it isn't a neat cycle. more like rock always beats scissors and usually beats paper, but rock has a separate counter that isn't affected by it, in case rock gets out of line)

[hurricanek8art]

Okay SO I've never Bad Batch posted beyond reblogs but there's two episodes left and I'm going insane so my big giant theory for why the finale is titled The Cavalry Has Arrived with a sprinkle of Tech is Alive Yes I Am Delusional:

Tonight's episode is going to end with the Batch, Omega's gang, and CX-2 all colliding in one of the hallways.

Big Western faceoff, tumbleweed, yadda yadda y'know.

Right before the shooting starts, CX-2 tells them their escape plan through whatever hallway they're planning is strategically ill-advised, because *insert tactical explanation here*

Hunter: "Oh yeah? What, you trying to help us or something? No thanks."

CX-2: "It was worth the attempt. It's not as if we've ever followed orders anyway."

BIG PAUSE, CLOSE UP MONTAGE OF EVERYONE AS THE WORDS SINK IN

Omega: "...Tech?!"

Tech: *removes helmet to reveal it's him* "Well, I thought it was obvious. Shall we liberate some clones together, then?"

SMASH CUT, ROLL CREDITS, THE CALVARY HAS ARRIVED BECAUSE THE *ENTIRE* BATCH IS TOGETHER AGAIN AND THEY'RE GONNA SAVE THE CLONES.

end conspiracy theory rant. 🥴

[someweirdladybug]

[X]

[lucithornz]

I need to know more about Alpha Lando. I always bucket him as an omega with internalized omegaphobia who wishes he were an alpha so he postures hard that way but it's not natural so that's why he comes off as insecure, awkward and too snappy sometimes. But I would like to maybe have my mind changed!!!

Okay this is going to be long. Here's the alpha Lando thesis.

Lando is an alpha. But he has this "not like the other alphas" complex. He's sometimes seen as more prissy, a little too soft to be an alpha. He's never been aggressive enough, so he feels inferior even though he's done nothing wrong. When he has to turn up the aggression on track etc it feels like a performance because that isn't really who he is.

So he gets a lot of shit for not reacting the way people expect alphas to react. He often gets compared to Max who of course is what people expect an alpha to be in F1. This of course taps into some insecurities regarding actual performance on track compared to Max etc.

All that posturing comes from a place of society telling him he's doing a bad job at being an alpha compared to his peers, and he's constantly torn between wanting to give them what they want, and being more true to himself.

However he also does think he's better than a lot of the other alphas on the grid. He has a soft side that he's not afraid to show, and that makes him stand out to omegas. Is he a bit annoying about that fact? Yes. Does it also annoy the other alphas? Yes. Is it working with omegas? Also yes.

And he does have a temper, and it does come out on track, sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn't. We've seen it before. The media like prodding at him to try to get a reaction, they want him to explode and give them a more aggressive alpha side so they can have this whole alpha posturing battle between his rivals. He's refused to give them that for the most part. That's where a lot of the tension in the media pen came from in 2024.

Exhibit A

the alpha paws. Sorry these are the hands of an alpha made for grabbing omega waists. He completely swallows Oscar's little omega paws.

Exhibit B

We have broad alpha shoulders. This is especially obvious when you compare him to his omega teammate.

The other thing to know about alpha Lando is that he does have that party bro side. That's his temperament, he's here to have a good time and go to clubs and dance. This is often comforting to certain shyer omegas he may be going out with (cough Oscar cough)

Sometimes he is a little scattered and forgetful, but ultimately he is a good alpha who is very concerned with getting the approval of his omega partners.

Now I would not characterize him as a soft alpha. He's a little more complicated than that. He has a more sensitive side but he can be pretty brash and come across quite harsh when he wants to be. He's got an edge to him that he hasn't let anyone smooth over.

This is where we get the "not like the other alphas" mentality. Like no he's not aggressive and snappy like most alphas or like what the media wants him to be, but he's also not one of those cringe soft alphas that get shit on for basically being betas(that would make him way too insecure) so he's kind of doing his own thing out there and bless but sometimes it makes him a whole mess.

Because you see alpha Lando is very complex, he has flaws, but those make him more interesting to study.

[dumbbullet]

VOTE FOR SHADOW IN TEAM DARK FEST

do rouge and omega deserve to win? Absolutely. I personally believe shadow would not even vote for HIMSELF. But I feel its my responsibility as long time shadow fan (20+years) and owner of a ridiculous piece of shadow memorabilia to ask that you vote for my pathetic little guy. At the very least, let him tie for 2nd place. (Or 3 way tie please please please best possible outcome)

VOTE HERE FOR SHADOW (or your team dark favorite)

@fernsnailz

[keefstars-mha]

Hey something just occurred to me. Do you guys think in the omegaverse there are trans second gender people?

Like trans alpha to omega or trans omega to beta or trans beta to alpha and such

And I don't mean their body like completely flips like a switch I mean like they can go to a doctor and take hormones regularly to transition medically to their actual second gender

Get surgery or something

Drink anti-venom milk or something like that

[crehador]

omg your tag on the omega bundt pan post......

am i wrong??

not to say you can't prep an omega but to me that seems to me like it would be an optional, voluntary bit of foreplay. like something you do because you want to. tiktok op makes it sound like something unpleasant that they would rather forego which, with omegas, you probably can

meanwhile rawdogging some butter into the pan before baking a cake is probably much less negotiable

[vilkalizer]

[hxdrostorms]

// Don't reblog this post, I don't want it being spread around!

As any other Amazoness/Saintia, Milo never had any room for feminity (at least, not something that matches with what constitutes it within the Sanctuary). Milo presents herself as looking very androgynous, which is contributed by the bulky physique she developed over the course of her intense training. It can lead people who aren't that knowledgeable, to second guess things.

However, the fact her armor took the form of something that would best accomodate her anatomy (it is different, from her comrades), and the mask she is forced to wear should be more than enough to answer anyone's questions.

As reference for Milo's armor, I'm taking Sonia from Omega as reference for what the armor looks, minus the mask:

Truth be said, she isn't exactly the fondest about how it looks. Especially given how way back when she first put it on, she really struggled with the high heels. Unfortunately, she finds herself in a 'beggars can't be choosers' type of situation. Which yet again, it meant she would have to persevere over this challenge.

Also the whole 'If the amazoness' mask is broken, she will have to either have to kill or fall in love with the one responsible for it', it's a big thing for Milo. Which means she is extremely protective of the mask. As a golden Amazoness she takes very seriously to not get involved in fights, that are way more personal in nature than anything else. She will only spill blood unless it's necessary, which means the latter option is the one thing she is actively trying to avoid at all costs.

[lucithornz]

Your lestappen pirate fic is seriously my favorite of your works. It's so detailed and Charles and Max in that are just perfect. Especially because there is not enough omega Max out there, thank you for doing the Lords work.

I re-read chapter 1 the other day to prepare for the return to the present. I have a few theories.

Thank you for the amazing fic keep up the good work :3

Omg really?!

Yes justice for omega Max he gets underestimated and underappreciated too often. Is he never allowed a nest? Come on now you can't look at him and tell me he isn't nesting and going into heat occasionally.

Oh boy, well, hope the new chapter update provides some good answers

<3

[bearer-of-the-torch]

The things I do for my favorite guy (play endgame content when I am a notorious 'I will not play endgame content' gamer)

[thefandomexpert]

do not. disrespect the side quests in my presence