Omegaverse, also called A/B/O or α/β/Ω (short for "alpha/beta/omega"), is a type of fiction that imagines different worlds and relationships. This genre suggests that humans have a social system similar to that of wolves and other wild dogs, with three groups: dominant "alphas," neutral "betas," and submissive "omegas." In the Omegaverse, this system influences how people behave in romantic, emotional, and sexual situations. While themes from Omegaverse appeared in books from the 1960s, the genre officially began in the 2010s as a part of erotic fan fiction focused on same-sex relationships. It combines ideas from werewolf stories and the mpreg subgenre, where male characters become pregnant.

Genre characteristics

Works in the Omegaverse genre usually show characters with two types of sex: a primary sex, which is male or female and can be seen from the outside, and a secondary sex, which develops during puberty and is linked to their internal reproductive system. The secondary sex is often one of the following, each connected to specific traits:

• Alpha (α): often seen as strong leaders, naturally in charge, and may have a short temper;
• Beta (β): may be a regular person or have a mix of Alpha and Omega traits;
• Omega (Ω): usually calm, gentle, and works to keep peace.

Characters often act like wolves or other similar animals, especially during sexual activities, which are described as natural and driven by physical instincts. This includes behaviors like mating cycles, chemical signals that attract Alphas and Omegas, a special body part called a knot that connects partners during mating, marking territory with scents, forming lifelong bonds with a partner, and following group structures. Only female Betas or Omegas can become pregnant, and Alphas can father children regardless of their primary sex. Male Omegas often have body parts that help with mating.

Omegaverse could be considered a type of fantasy story, as it includes imaginary worlds and rules. However, it has specific details that make it a unique genre. Since it is a type of user-created category, authors may include or leave out certain elements, such as Betas or other groups like Deltas and Gammas. The genre sometimes includes other fantasy ideas, like werewolves or magical creatures. Some stories show a strict social system where Alphas are seen as powerful leaders and Omegas face unfair treatment because of their biology. In some stories, this leads to harmful situations like forced relationships, unwanted pregnancies, or kidnapping.

Most Omegaverse stories focus on relationships between male Alphas and male Omegas, though some stories include heterosexual relationships. About 10% of Omegaverse stories on a fan fiction site in 2013 had male and female characters. Some stories change typical ideas, like showing Alphas who break rules or Omegas who hide their natural scents to avoid discrimination. In Japanese stories, non-traditional relationships are more common.

The terms "A/B/O" and "Omegaverse" are sometimes used the same way, but "A/B/O" usually refers only to sexual relationships, while "Omegaverse" is used when the story is set in a new world with unique rules. Some people avoid using "A/B/O" because it sounds like a harmful word.

History

The themes often linked to the Omegaverse genre are not unique to it. These ideas appear in many types of media, but they became especially connected to the Omegaverse, as described by Professor Kristina Busse as "a combination of different ideas." The idea of humans experiencing mating cycles and heat periods was first shown in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Amok Time," which introduced the Vulcan concept of pon farr, a mating cycle where Vulcan males must mate or face death. This idea became popular in Star Trek fan fiction, especially stories about the characters Kirk and Spock. In 1969, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote The Left Hand of Darkness, a novel about an alien world with characters that change gender and experience mating cycles called kemmer. Stories about animal transformations, like werewolves, appear in works such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, Teen Wolf, and Harry Potter, with the last mentioned fandom popularizing interests related to animal transformations.

The Omegaverse genre is usually linked to the Supernatural television series fandom, where it developed as a mix of werewolf themes and the mpreg subgenre of fan fiction. Another possible influence was the Dark Angel television show, in which actor Jensen Ackles played characters with feline DNA, and female characters in the story experienced heat cycles. The first stories recognized as A/B/O were written in mid-2010. In May 2010, a writing prompt on an online community for Supernatural mentioned "alpha" males with physical features on their bodies and "bitch males" without these features. This inspired a story titled I ain't no lady, but you'd be the tramp, which focused on actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as an Alpha and an Omega. Though the story did not use the word "omega," it introduced many traits later connected to the Omegaverse genre.

In the months that followed, other writers shared similar stories. On November 9, 2010, a new writing prompt first used the terms Alpha, Beta, and Omega, leading to the creation of three stories. By June 2011, the term "Omegaverse" and its related ideas were widely used. The following month, the first Omegaverse story focused on female characters (femslash) was published, and the first use of Omegaverse tropes outside the Supernatural fandom was recorded.

The Omegaverse genre grew in popularity among other fan groups, starting with those focused on Sherlock and X-Men: First Class, then spreading to communities centered on Hannibal, Teen Wolf, Glee, Doctor Who, and the movie The Avengers. In 2011, a Chinese translation of an A/B/O Sherlock fan fiction posted on the website Suiyuanju introduced the Omegaverse to Chinese fan groups, leading to its spread into danmei original novels.

In 2012, the idea of "fated mates" was introduced. In 2014, the Omegaverse became popular in Japan, gaining value with the publication of the first A/B/O manga in 2015. In 2016, the differences in power and roles among Alphas, Betas, and Omegas were explained, and the idea of a mark or bite that connects couples chemically and biologically was created. In 2018, the concept of the "inner wolf," an animal instinct that influences Alphas and Omegas, was introduced. Manga artist Shinshi Nakai later added a new character type called "Enigma" in Kanraku Alpha Enigma, which allows characters to change their secondary gender. However, this idea was not widely accepted by Omegaverse fans and did not continue in the genre.

Reception and analysis

Omegaverse has become very popular and also very debated among fans. Some people criticize it, saying it supports ideas that men should have more power and can harm others without facing consequences. They also point out that it comes from stories about animals and shows unequal power between men and women. Others enjoy how it explores how bodies and gender roles work, and how it challenges ideas about being queer and facing unfair treatment.

Academic experts have different opinions. Some think Omegaverse shows old ideas about how men and women should act, along with ideas that being heterosexual is the norm. Others believe it can be seen as a way to understand transgender experiences. Researchers like Delgado Díaz, Ubillus Breña, and Cappello say Omegaverse is not directly connected to ideas about being queer or transgender, even though it uses symbols related to gender and the experiences of women. In this genre, characters called "omegas" (both male and female) often act like traditional housewives and mothers, but these roles are only used to create stories, not to make statements about real life.

Researcher Milena Popova says the A/B/O genre (a part of Omegaverse) lets writers and readers explore topics like power, love, control, and whether people agree to something in many ways. She says people use it to think about how to handle unfair relationships. Another researcher, Laura Campillo Arnaiz, explains that dark Omegaverse stories help people deal with feelings of being powerless or ashamed, which can be healing.

Academic Paige Hartenburg suggests Omegaverse is linked to painful experiences in LGBTQ+ communities and stories that try to fix or change queer identities. She says the genre shows how being queer affects the body, and how its focus on violence and traditional ideas about being heterosexual reflects larger issues that try to control who gets to tell stories. She also says the genre has both problems, like its focus on powerful men, and shows how LGBTQ+ fans and mainstream creators are no longer working together as much.

Angie Fazekas wrote that in Omegaverse, fans use old ideas about gender and sexuality to imagine a world where being queer is normal and traditional roles are often changed. However, she says these stories are not truly progressive because, like many other fan stories, they mostly focus on relationships between white men.

Impact

The Omegaverse became very popular in 2017 and is now often written about in fan fiction. By July 2018, more than 39,000 Omegaverse fan works had been posted on AO3, and by 2023, this number had grown to over 165,000. In addition to these stories based on existing works, the Omegaverse has become its own type of original fiction, especially erotic stories. About 200 Omegaverse books were published on Amazon between January and June 2020. It has also become a subgenre of both commercial and non-commercial yaoi (a type of manga that features male-male relationships). Because of its popularity in Japan, South Korea began creating its own Omegaverse manhwas (a type of comic). China also started producing Omegaverse stories, but rules in China have limited how much of this genre is available.

In 2017, the "Dom/Sub Universe" subgenre became popular, especially in Japanese yaoi stories. This subgenre uses elements of BDSM (practices involving dominance and submission) and treats dominant and submissive roles as secondary genders. It is inspired by Omegaverse in how it describes caste systems (systems where people are divided into groups based on roles or status). In the "Cakeverse," a small part of the human population is divided into "forks," who cannot taste anything, and "cakes," who have a specific flavor that makes them attractive to "forks."