SATYR ROMANCE:
Just as society at large is guided by THE TWIN PRINCIPLES in an attempt to channel its ambitious momentum in a positive direction, so too is SATYR ROMANCE a codified method of ensuring that each romantic relationship is in itself a productive and harmonious unit. However, the relationship roles are not called THE MERITORIOUS and THE FRATERNAL, because that would be dumb.
Instead, SATYR ROMANCE gets a little more complicated.
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There are three relationship roles codified in traditional SATYR ROMANCE: the ALPHA, the OMEGA, and the BETA. Each plays a different role within the individual romantic unit that makes up one satyr relationship, called a HARRAS, and each contributes to the success of that harras in different ways. Satyrs tend to colloquially refer to this relationship schema as A/O/B instead of calling it SATYR ROMANCE, because that would be dumb.
The role of the ALPHA can be summed up as the role of the LEADER. The alpha of a harras is expected to guide, lead, and protect the partnership. Alphas were traditionally expected to act as representatives of the harras in society at large. Traits traditionally considered alpha are assertiveness, decorum, and gravitas.
The role of the OMEGA can be summed up as the role of the CHALLENGER. An omega exists as a galvanizing force within his harras that keeps it from calcifying, provoking his partners and daring them not to become too comfortable, ensuring that ideas and power flow freely between its members. Traits traditionally considered omega are indomitability, creativity, and spontaneity.
The role of the BETA is best understood as the role of the SUPPORTER. A beta is there to ensure the needs of his harrasmates are met, to lift their spirits when they're down, to most fully exemplify the masculine bond that the harras stays together for. Betas were something of an interesting outlier in traditional A/O/B relationships of a more classical era, as they were not expected to participate in the sexual aspect of the relationship, functioning more analogously to the housewife you cherish and happily return home to, without the pressures of coitus, but this is an artifact that history has left behind in modernity. Traits traditionally considered beta are adaptability, supportiveness, and steadfastness.
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The classical satyrical ideal of a harras consists of three men – one alpha, one omega, and one beta – but it's important to note a few things. Firstly, although the romanticized ideal of an A/O/B relationship remains popular in modern society, it is quite common to see relationships comprised of any number of different combinations of roles: one might encounter a relationship between two alphas and a beta, three betas, an alpha and an omega without a beta, three omegas... the possibilities continue from there. Secondly, the role one plays in a harras is potentially fluid: one's status as an alpha, beta, or omega is defined solely by their behavior within the harras, and is subject to change should the dynamics between individuals in a harras shift. While it's quite common to hear someone say something along the lines of a given satyr being "a born alpha", it's not to say that one's role in a harras is at all inherent to any particular aspect of their biology, because that would be dumb.
Things get even crazier and more complicated from there when you consider the sexual politics of all this. One could be forgiven for thinking that an alpha equates to what you'd consider a "dom" where sex is concerned; not so. You could have dom alphas, sub alphas, service top betas, switch omegas, hung bottom omegas, feral omegas... just the thought of it is enough to make the nose bleed. The beauty of this system is that every role, every FLAVOR of role, is so clearly delineated.
