Omegaverse, also known asA/B/O orα/β/Ω (an abbreviation for "alpha/beta/omega"), is asubgenre ofspeculativeerotic fiction. The genre supposes the existence of adominance hierarchy among humans, as similar to those associated withwolves and othercanids, that is composed of dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas". This hierarchy determines how people interact with one another in romantic, erotic and sexual contexts. Though tropes associated with Omegaverse can be observed in works published as early as the 1960s, the genre formally originated in the 2010s as a subgenre of eroticslash (same-sex)fan fiction, as a fusion of elements ofwerewolf fiction and thempreg subgenre.
Works in the Omegaverse genre typically depict characters as possessing two sexes: a primary sex (male or female) determined by their external sexual organs, and a secondary sex that manifests duringpuberty, determined by their internal reproductive system.[1][2] The secondary sex is typically one of the following, each of which also correspond to certain distinctive character traits:[3][4][5][6]
Characters typically possesswolf or othercanid-like behavior, especially as it pertains tosexual intercourse and sexuality, which is described as instinctual, responding to animalistic physiological stimuli.[7][8] This includesrutting andheat cycles,pheromonal attraction between Alphas and Omegas,[9]penises with knots (used to "knot", or tie, the partner to an Alpha during copulation, an action known as "knotting"),[7]scent marking,[10]imprinting,[5]breeding, mating rites,pack structures[11] and potentially permanent psychic bonds with a mate.[3] Between Alphas and Betas, only females can carry on a pregnancy, but male Omegas are often envisaged as being able tobecome pregnant via auterus connected to therectum,[11][12][13] and Alphas can impregnate regardless of their main gender.[14] To make penetration and impregnation easier, male Omegas often haveself-lubricating anuses.[6]
The abstract premises of Omegaverse could designate it as afantasy genre according to the conventions established byTzvetan Todorov, but the high specification of its characteristic elements suggests that it could also be considered a literary genre in itself.[15] As Omegaverse is a type offolksonomy, some of its aspects are included or excluded at the discretion of the story author.[5] Sometimes Betas are absent, or other intermediate designations such as Deltas and Gammas are added.[14] The genre often features other fantasy elements, such as the presence ofwerewolves or other fantastical creatures.[7] Some works introduce a rigidcaste system, where Alphas are depicted as the upper class elites while Omegas are at the bottom tier and face discrimination and oppression because of theirphysiology, creating an example ofbiological determinism.[4][16][17] In darker stories, this results innon-consensual or dubiously consensual intercourses,forced pregnancies, kidnapping of Omegas andsexual slavery.[18][19]
Omegaverse works are most frequently focused on male-male couples composed of an Alpha and an Omega,[3] thoughheterosexual Omegaverse works have been produced,[10] and by 2013, about 10% onArchive of Our Own were labeled male/female.[5] Some subvert the genre tropes, telling stories about illicit relationships between Alphas, Omegas who hide their smell using chemical pheromones so that they are not a victim of biological prejudices,[20] or dominant Omegas and submissive Alphas.[8] Non-traditional couples are often featured in Japanese Omegaverse works.[21]
While the terms "A/B/O" and "Omegaverse" can be used interchangeably, the first one often refers only to the sexual dynamics, while the second one is preferred when the story is set in a new ideological world.[9] Some prefer to avoid use of the term "A/B/O" because it resembles the racial slurabo.[6]
The tropes commonly associated with the genre are not exclusive to it: they can be found acrossfandoms of various media, but came together in the Omegaverse in what ProfessorKristina Busse has described as "a seemingly perfect storm".[20] The concept of mating and heat cycles among humans was popularized by the 1967 episode "Amok Time" of the American television seriesStar Trek, which introduces the concept ofpon farr, theVulcan mating cycle wherein Vulcan males must mate or die, which became a popular plot concept for fan works in theStar Trek fandom, particularly fan fiction focused on theKirk/Spock pairing.[22]Ursula K. Le Guin also wrote, in her 1969 novelThe Left Hand of Darkness, about anextraterrestrialandrogynous world withhermaphroditic characters and mating cycles namedkemmer.[8] Animal transformations likewerewolves are included inBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Twilight,Teen Wolf andHarry Potter, with the latter's fandom popularizingbestiality kinks.[23]
The origin of the Omegaverse is typically attributed to the fandom surrounding the American television seriesSupernatural, as a fusion between werewolves and thempreg subgenre of erotic fan fiction.[23][24] Another source of inspiration could have been thescience fictiondramaDark Angel, whereSupernatural actorJensen Ackles plays twin supersoldiers with felineDNA, and female characters of their species go into heat.[23] The first works recognized as A/B/O were published in mid-2010:[3] that year in May, a writing prompt was shared on aLiveJournal community dedicated toSupernatural, mentioning "alpha" males having knots on theirpenises, and "bitch males" without the knots, inspiring user tehdirtiestsock to writeI ain't no lady, but you'd be the tramp, areal person fiction work focused on actorsJared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as an Alpha and an Omega, which was published on July 24.[8][17] Despite not using the term "omega", the story created many of the characteristics later associated with the Omegaverse genre.[8]
Over the next few months, other anonymous authors shared similar stories, until on November 9 a new writing prompt mentioned Alpha, Beta and Omega men for the first time, spurring the creation of three works. By June 2011, the term "Omegaverse" and its dynamics had become commonplace; the following month, the firstfemslash Omegaverse work was published, and the first use of the tropes outside theSupernatural fandom was recorded.[6]
The genre subsequently expanded in popularity to other fan communities: first to those focused aroundSherlock andX-Men: First Class, then it quickly reached other fandoms like those of television seriesHannibal,Teen Wolf,Glee,Doctor Who and movieThe Avengers.[7][6] A Chinese translation of an A/B/OSherlock fanfic posted on website Suiyuanju around October 2011 introduced Omegaverse to Chinese slash fan circles, from which it spread todanmei original novels.[25]
In 2012, the notion of "fated mates" was introduced.[26] In 2014 Omegaverse gained strong traction in Japan,[21] acquiring market value with the publication of the first A/B/O manga in 2015.[27] In 2016 the discrimination and power dynamics between Alphas, Betas and Omegas began to be outlined, and the idea of the mark or bite that chemically and biologically links couples together was created,[28] while in 2018 the concept of the "inner wolf", an animal instinct guiding Alphas and Omegas, arose.[29] Through her workKanraku Alpha Enigma,manga artist Shinshi Nakai subsequently tried to add the "Enigma", a new type of character who can mutate their secondary gender, but the novelty was resisted by Omegaverse fans and had no impact or continuity.[30]
Omegaverse has become both extremely popular and controversial in fandom circles. Some condemn it as revolting and sick, affirming that it reinforcespatriarchal values and a rape culture,[31] objecting to its roots inbestiality fiction and the power imbalances between genders.[3] Conversely, others appreciate how it deconstructs bodies and gender roles, offering subversive social commentary onqueer identity and oppression.[31][32]
Academic opinions are equally divided between those who believe Omegaverse shows a new type of genderessentialism combined withhomophobic andheteronormative elements, and those who see the space to give it atransgender reading.[3] Delgado Díaz, Ubillus Breña and Cappello do not believe that the Omegaverse is linked toqueer theory ortransidentity, despite containingallegories togender identity and the female condition (Omegas, both male and female, could be considered embodiments of the traditional role of women as housewives and mothers), whose purpose, however, is only that of frameworks to plots ranging from melodrama to horror.[33]
According to researcher Milena Popova, "the features of the A/B/O genre allow for the exploration of themes of power, desire, pleasure, intimacy, romance, control, and consent in a variety of ways",[34] and it is used by writers and readers "as a tool to articulate and think through consent issues in unequal relationships".[35] Similarly, Laura Campillo Arnaiz argues that dark Omegaverse works serve to gain control on the feelings of helplessness and humiliation that characterize it, creating acathartic experience.[36]
According to Paige Hartenburg, the Omegaverse is connected to LGBTQ+ trauma and corrective narratives, hence it "writes queerness through the impact it leaves on the body, with its violence and heteronormic tendencies responding to larger structures that attempt to confine narrative authority to a single group" and "in all its intricacies, both problematic in its highly patriarchal troupes [sic] and emblematic of considerable community trauma, [the Omegaverse] is a genre representative of the dissolving relationship between queer fandom spaces and mainstream creatives".[37]
Angie Fazekas wrote that "[i]n the omegaverse, fans use traditional tropes of gender and sexuality to imagine a universe where queer sexuality is the norm and normative gender roles are often skewed and upended",[32] but that they fail to offer real progressiveness since, like most of the other fan fictions, their works are predominantly focused on relationships between white men.[38]
The Omegaverse exploded in popularity in 2017, quickly becoming a frequent subject of fan fiction writers.[29] As of July 2018[update], over 39,000 Omegaversefan works had been published on the fan fiction websiteArchive of Our Own,[6] and over 165,000 as of 2023.[39] In addition to thesederivative works, Omegaverse has emerged as its own genre of original commercial erotic fiction: roughly 200 Omegaverse novels were published onAmazon from January to June 2020.[7] It has also become a subgenre of both commercial andnon-commercialyaoi (manga featuring male-male couples).[21][40][41] Given the positive reception in Japan, South Korea started its own production of Omegaversemanhwas, as well as China, although the censorship applied in this latter country has limited the genre popularity.[42]
Beginning in 2017, the "Dom/Sub Universe" subgenre gained popularity, particularly inyaoi works in Japan; it usesBDSM elements, positingdominant and submissive as secondary genders, and draws inspirations from Omegaverse in its depiction of caste systems.[43] In the "Cakeverse", a small part of the human population is divided into "forks", who have no sense of taste, and "cakes", people with a particular flavor that makes them irresistible to "forks".[44]
