35 comments/ 81757 views/ 96 favorites Down, Boy! By: Firebrain Down, Boy! We often read about the alpha whose "bark is worse than his bite" -- and hey, even tough guys have feelings too! But is it really that simple? Does the bossy, prickly façade conceal a big teddy bear who just vants to have lotz of bebbez? Maybe. But I find him a bit pathetic, if I'm honest, so I don't want to read about him. What I do want to read about is the alpha who has his own set of interesting (and possibly deviant) issues. We already touched on this with how bloodthirsty psychopaths seem to make awesome love interests (not very comfortable to see that written down, is it, hmm? But why do you like vampire fiction again...?), but to tone it down a little: how do his insecurities inform what he is? Exactly how far is this alpha prepared to go to assert his dominance, and does he ever worry about crossing his own self-imposed line? Think about his dialogue, too; does William have to bounce between a guarded killjoy and a sex-crazed WWF wrestler? Can he be snarky and sarcastic, instead? Could he even be a little bit chatty? Dare I say it -- could your alpha talk like a normal person? It makes things ten times more interesting when you get him into the bedroom and discover his other side... Finally -- think about his position within the pack. One of the things that defines the alpha is the way that other men behave around him. Don't just surround him with yes boys or Judases; mix these guys up, too. Make your beta better. 2) Mr. Grasshopper We tend to see alphas who are older (sometimes centuries older) and they're mostly very confident in their dominant natures -- because that's part of being dominant, isn't it...? Not exactly. The transitioning alpha is a fascinating creature. For whatever reason, he's realised that it is in his nature to lead and to be in control, and the shame of occupying the role that cunts usually inhabit is slipping away. He's experimenting. He's not quite sure of himself, and he's not ashamed to admit that. He's often quite young, too. He's occasionally done as a clichéd "my wife/girlfriend left me, so I'm not taking any more shit," type -- but it's so much more than that. He's not becoming something through deviant Darwinism: he's embracing what was always there. Sometimes he's revelling in his new experiences, and sometimes he's fucking up, lead balloon style. Either way -- I think he's my favourite; fledgling arrogance, buoyant enthusiasm, ever teetering on the edge of control? Mmm. Yes please. So if he's not yet a full-blooded alpha, how is Mr. Grasshopper still sexy? Well. Imagine the boy next door, who's quiet and foppish and kind of cute. You never really thought he was your type. Now, imagine him standing over you bare-chested, pressing a firm palm over your left breast and inhaling deeply. Circling your nipple with his thumb as if he's never seen something so perfect. "Mine," he says, squeezing down. My work here is done. 3) Mr. Twist Out of Water The alpha occupies a number of usual haunts: the business bad-ass has his office and plush hotel rooms; the Lord of the Manor has his study with the roaring fire and his dungeon with the shackles; the vampire has his somewhat bare and impersonal boudoir (usually filled with priceless antiques), or the alley around the back of Tesco's. He's not just made of flesh and teeth and questionable sexual practices: it's about his space, his life, and the people and things he surrounds himself with. What about those guys we don't always think about as alphas, and the spaces they inhabit? The gamers at their tournaments, the emos at their gigs, the librarians (hello Giles!), the vicars, the hobos, the drummers, the yoga guys, the angels (proper angels, not just "nice boys" -- although nice boys can make intriguing alphas too). Take that guy who you think doesn't fit into the mould: warm him up. Get him pliable. Stuff him in. How's he looking? Pretty damn good, huh? (In fact, if anybody can write a convincing -- and not spoof -- story about an impotent alpha, I will send you a picture of my breasts. Which are awesome, by the way. Word). Another relevant point here is that the traditional alpha is somewhat outdated and old fashioned (again, we see this played on a lot with vampires who have been around for centuries, or older Daddy/dom figures). What does it mean to be an alpha in the modern world, and how has he evolved? 4) Mr. Big(amy) We touched on the biological appeal of alphas earlier; how the (literal) cream of the crop is obviously going to produce the strongest offspring. This theme is prevalent in alpha stories. But what gets ignored, time and time again, is the point that such a man is going to be in demand by more than one woman -- and he's not going to resist, not all the time. He's going to have his cake and eat it, because he can. Nature is telling him to spread his seed, so he's going to put it on toast. And pancakes. And crackers. And Nancy, that hot chick who works at the bookstore. Who dares to write about the polyamorous alpha? (Not the cheating alpha; he's an entirely different case). It's been done before -- in fact, the Cain type mentioned earlier seems to embrace this side of himself most often -- but what isn't done a lot is an exploration of the implications. The women around him seem to just accept it because Cain is an alpha, and what he says goes. That might be all good for the male reader's wish fulfilment, but it also gets old pretty fast; why not get your teeth into the juicy conflict here? So this alpha wants more than one woman -- women who don't just roll over and bat their eyelashes at him -- and he wants to make it work. How's he going to get that? 5) Mr. Match Made in Hell All too often, the alpha meets a sweet, innocent girl and sees the error of his ways. Last Friday? He was kicking it with the guys, scoping out the chicks (while secretly thinking how lame his friends were for enjoying such pastimes, since he's better than that) and throwing a few beers/virgin nuns down his neck. This Friday? He's going to Ikea with Bethany and then meeting her friends for dinner; sure, it'll be awkward at first, but he'll win them over in the end through his dry humour, evident love for Bethany and the fact that even her guy friends will secretly want to lick his shapely man-buttocks. Hold up there. Alphas like a challenge, right? So what the hell is he doing with Bethany, the pouty virgin who's probably not going to let him near her asshole until they're in the throes of a midlife crisis? (Contrary to popular belief, women do not relax all their inhibitions or preferences for the "right man"). Yeah, no guy has been good enough for her to bend her morals of steel -- yet -- but come on. Bethany lives in wait for her alpha. There's a reason that the best ice cream in the world is named after two men; women melt for it, and for them (I wonder if Ben and Jerry are alphas?). It's that easy if you know how -- and the alpha does. You know who'd be a real challenge? Zara. The girl who is possibly slightly better than him at the office. The one who likes sex as much as he does, and is a lot more likely to want the things he wants in bed (and be experienced enough to be good at them). He's a confident guy; he doesn't need a girl who's never had a lover before just to bolster his ego...does he? So awesome is he, surely her previous lovers will pale into insignificance! Just because Zara dares to beat him at a few things, doesn't mean that she's dominant herself -- she could make the ultimate sub. Now there's a challenge. There's a tendency within genre fiction to have the heroine somehow "redeem" her alpha male. If she likes everything about him, though -- why would she want to do that? How about a girl (like Zara) who just accepts him as he is, and enjoys it? Why have our jagged, rough couple morphed into snuggly bears for the end of the novel? That's a very lazy way to resolve conflict. Why does our alpha have to change for the "better", and how can you do this differently? The conflict needs to come from elsewhere. **** Oh, you're still here? Sorry. Daddy put me on the naughty step for doing all that thinking, and then I had to redo my pigtails and rub the cookie crumbs off my lip gloss. Well, that's me done. Officially alpha'd out for at least...ooh, three hours. I hope I've offered a little insight into the alpha in fiction, and I hope you've come away with some cool new ideas. Or maybe you're just embarrassed about your old ones (if it helps, that happens to me all the time. Never give a blow job with a breath strip on your tongue). Either way: it's been fascinating, so thanks for coming along for the ride. If you have anything to add, please do so in the comments section -- did I miss anything? Did I get it wrong? Do I owe you for a dry-cleaning bill after what you did to your trousers? Or do you have a rather fabulous example of an alpha story that breaks the mould? I wish you many fun adventures in the reading and writing of alphas. This has been one small step for bossy boys, but one giant step for -- okay, okay, I'm sorry, Daddy! Don't do it again! Yes, alphas never take small steps...sob, whimper...ooh, that tickles.