Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

Activity: Read, Reading, To Read
Points: 10 points for your initial comment, 2 points for every substantial response, max 30 points
Deadline: August 30 @ 11:59PM UTC (Timezone Converter)

Details: Since this will be my only activity of Term XXVI, I wanted to both do something relatively simple AND take the opportunity to get to know you guy, so we're going to have a discussion post about our recent reading habits. For your initial comment, write at least 150 words talking about books you've recently read, are currently reading, and/or what you plan to read next. You can talk about any aspect of the books you wish, but some ideas would be why you selected the books, what you liked/didn't like about them, whether you'd recommend them to others, etc. For your responses, you'll need to write at least 50 words. Make sure you're saying something more than, "I read that book and liked/hated it!" Try to open a dialogue about what was good or bad, or even why you chose NOT to read it. Anything goes, as long as there's substance to it.

If you have any questions, direct them to the appropriate thread. As always, don't forget to sign each comment with your name/house or a sigtag.

Also, do remember that I wiped the roster clean, so if you have bonus items, make sure you register them HERE as soon as possible to earn your extra points. I won't be giving grace periods, so please double-check that you're good to go!

Comments

[meredith44]

It's not Alpha/Omega as in ABO universe that people do for fanfic. This is her own universe with her own rules.

In this universe, Alpha wolves are dominants who have strong desires to lead and protect their packs. Most wolves are Alphas, although only one at a time can lead a pack. (The most dominant among the Alphas. They will fight for this honor if they perceive weakness.) Betas are wolves who have no desire to be anything other than submissive. They do not fight for dominance, nor do they have any power in the pack hierarchy. Omegas have the same strong desire to protect the pack that Alphas do, but they have no desire to be dominants. Their power comes through the ability to soothe and calm the others. Alphas can usually use their power (especially the lead Alpha of a pack) to make wolves less dominant do what they want; Omegas are outside of that and don't follow anyone's orders. They have their own power.

Usually pairs are an Alpha to an Alpha or an Alpha to someone outside the pack, as Betas and Omegas are so rare. Everyone is free to pick their own partners, there is no compulsion, as there is in ABO fanfic verse. Sometimes someone's wolf will call to someone else's wolf and they will want to be paired before the humans involved do (each werewolf tends to think of their wolf as a separate part of themselves), but, again, it is totally consensual.

It's not so much a factor in the Alpha and Omega series, but in the Mercy Thompson series, there is even a love triangle through the first books. Mercy has to decide between Adam and Samuel, both of whom are incredibly strong Alphas. (And she, being a coyote, is completely outside the Alpha system.)

Oh, and there is none of the kinkiness from the ABO fanfic verse. There is no knotting or going into heat or Mpreg. (Werewolves actually can generally not get pregnant. As they feel forced to change into a wolf at the full moon and the change into a wolf causes female wolves to miscarry babies.) And the sex is never really fully described. It is much more about the stories (even if it is more of a love story in the A/O verse) than about the sex.

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 1

[wasureneba.livejournal.com]

So, if female werewolves generally can't carry babies to term---is this a world where most of the wolves are made and not born? I've always liked the "made wolf" dynamic. Most of the werewolf fic I've read has so much focus on born werewolves, and a very separate werewolf culture, and I really like the idea of people just sort of... falling into it and not knowing how to deal.

Anieclaw

[meredith44]

Werewolves are pretty much all made. Only one werewolf has been born (although he is the main male character of the Alpha and Omega series). The female wolf of the Alpha and Omega series has only been a werewolf for a few years and is fairly unknowledgeable about how it all works and is still trying to figure it out. Mercy, the protagonist of the other series, is a coyote, but she is dealing with werewolves, as that is her world, and she is also trying to figure out all the dynamics. A lot of both series deals with people who have been wolves long enough that they have different issues other than "falling into it and not knowing how to deal", but there are elements of that in the series as well.

I, personally, preferred the Mercy Thompson series, but I think Alpha and Omega might have more of the dynamic that interests you.

Meredith // Hufflepuff