Hello my Beautiful Watchers. Sooo… Alpha, Beta, Omega, a.k.a the Omegaverse sometimes
also referred to as Mpreg stories. Where to start?
The very basic too long didn’t read concept is… It began life as an extremely kinky
type of gay erotic fanfiction but has since evolved, first into more unique works and
then into a niche but legitimate genre of romance literature.
It's based around the idea of a universe where male human biology is fundamentally different
to what we’re used to as it exhibits traits more commonly associated with canines, resulting
in drastic changes to human sexual reproduction and society as a whole…. Also some dudes
can get pregnant.
Before we jump into it I just want to quickly confirm a few things.
One: There will be some explicit content discussed here. Not as much as you might expect all
things considered but some.
Two: In the very unlikely case that this wasn’t abundantly clear already, this video is not
an expert’s insight into this concept.
This is a sheltered straight cis male exploring the genre for the first time and floundering
way out of his depth for your amusement.
And three… just regarding the comments and stuff, can I make a request that we all agree
to keep the kinkshaming to a minimum?
No one is expecting you to participate in a fetish you might find disquieting, you just
need to respect that this might be someone else's jam and they didn’t ask you if you
approved of it.
So as I was saying, in this alternate universe there are three biologically distinct types
of male humans: Alphas, Betas, and Omegas.
Alpha’s tend to be physically larger and stronger than other men and have a natural
disposition towards having dominating and aggressive personalities. Depending on the
author they also sometimes have unusual genitalia but we’ll swing back to that.
Betas are usually the closest thing to real world males, though through either genetics,
social training or just in comparison to the Alphas tend to be more timid and submissive
people who often defer to Alphas for leadership and protection.
Omegas, the most submissive and subservient of the three types of men are the most significantly
different biologically because they are able to get pregnant.
They still have penises and testiceles but if they have unprotected anal sex with a man
they can conceive, carry and birth a child.
I’m not going to lie… I’ve not yet had the courage to look into exactly how the actual
birthing works. I assume some sort of uterus equivalent is involved and one HAS to deduce
that the baby exits from the arsehole because the alternative….. Uhh I mean, it would
be like watching footage of a snake eating a football played in reverse.
Oh, umm, Omegaverse societies are almost always based on a hierarchy in which the Alphas are
unquestionably in charge and the first class citizens, and the Betas and Omegas are assigned
more mundane or less impressive roles.
How strict this hierarchy is appears to vary wildly with it sometimes being legally enforced
on a governmental level while other times it's considered an old fashioned but still
prevalent socal habit like, let's be honest here, our universe’s treatment of women.
Actually almost everything about the Alpha, Beta, Omega genre varies wildly from story
to story. Besides the absolute basics I just described you never really know what you’re
going to get from a book.
For starters there's a massive sliding scale regarding just how many wolf like traits are
integrated into humans.
At the bottom there's the stories that are pretty much as close to the world as we know
it with the single exception of the three types of men and some minor social changes
to account for this.
Somewhere in the middle you have the books where society is radically changed by men
acting like dogs with people forming territorial packs and choosing their friends, sexual partners
and leaders based solely on physical and combative ferocity.
And right at the top you have the books that crossover with shifter romances which I’ve
talked about before and make the lovers involved straight up wolves or werewolves.
Depending on where a story falls on this scale you might also find some additional quirks
mixed into the biology.
Omegas might occasionally go into “heat:” sexual frenzies in which they can no longer
control their actions.
They might also have pheromone glands in their bodies that can drive nearby Alphas to similar
uncontrollable bouts of lust.
And sometimes dudes might have more… canine inspired genitalia with all the implications
that will hold for people who are… familiar with… that sort of thing.
Now as much as it would fuel my channel to get thousands of comments mentioning that
the Alpha/Beta pack mentality of wolves was actually debunked years ago and is now loathed
even by the guy who originally theorised it, I do feel obliged to point out that in a universe
where men can get pregnant, outdated canine sociology is the least of the things that
you are expected you to suspend your disbelief on.
Another inconsistent feature of the verse is the answer to the question that might have
been on the forefront of your mind since the start of this summary: To quote Monty Python:
“Are there any women here?”
And the answer is… sometimes. Sometimes women don’t exist and never have existed
in these worlds and the Omegas fill their role in society completely but in other stories
they’re still around but are only sexually attracted to Alphas or Betas.
Like with pretty much every other romance book genre there is also a scale of romance
to smuuuut.
All the books seem to be at least a little sexual but there are definitely some that
concentrate far, far more on the meet cutes than the fucking.
You can also expect an almost limitless amount of genre crossover potential.
BDSM is its most natural ally considering how one sided sexual power dynamics is an
integral part of its makeup but it's also been known to dip its toes into fantasy, science
fiction, urban fantasy, and thriller.
Heck, name a genre and there's probably at least one Omegaverse story set in it.
Unlike something like Viking romance that seems to follow very formulaic set up and
plots, the Omergverce seems to truly be just a place to set the story that you want to
tell in, and not what your story is going to primarily be about.
Interesting fact, the fanbase for this content wasn’t as exclusively gay male as I was
expecting. The person who first clued me into this thing's existence was in fact a woman
who just happened to be into these stories.
She’s also the real BDSM dom I went to for advice about Fifty Shades many failings. Appreciate
you Meg.
So what is the big appeal of these books? Oddly enough my initial assumptions on this
matter were slightly off here too, or at least were radically changed by the first novella
I read. I’ll explain what I mean when I come to the review.
Cursory examination seems to suggest that the pheromone/heat aspect was a big draw.
People like the idea of two guys literally physically unable to stop themselves from
fucking like animals.
This taps into the fantasy that I touched upon briefly in my Fifty Shades review regarding
giving a person with really low self esteem a plausible explanation as to why their reader
insert POV character is scoring with guys that they would consider way out of their
league.
The problem is this leads into the biggest recurring controversy regarding the genre,
namely the issues around consent, like how the hell do you even define consent between
people who’s own bodies don’t give them a cognitive say in the matter of who or when
they fuck.
Even in the stories that leave those aspects out there's still some serious consent problems
that inevitably arise from a society that's formed around a ridiculously unbalanced power
dynamic, again, mirroring a massive but consistently ignored or suppressed problem in the real
world.
I don’t know if this was a cop out or not but I requested that my friend recommend me
some books with no such examples of consent grey areas. I uh, I’m just kind of burnt
out from reading so many books where someone always gets assaulted in some capacity.
Another interesting thing about this genre is its origins. As I said it initially came
to be via internet slash fiction.
The story goes that the first ever example of ABO was a request that someone posted on
an erotic fanfiction forum that someone write a story involving the two brothers from Supernatural
exhibiting some of the Alpha/Omega sexual features I discussed and it just kind of took
off from there.
People started writing Omegaverse versions of other popular fictional shows and movies,
leading to people creating original works set in a world where the same rules applied
and eventually, like with many other things that quickly developed a dedicated and monetizable
fanbase, other people started writing and publishing books on the subject.
Ok, now that we all have at least a basic understanding of the Omegaverse I guess we
should have a look at the first of the specific books I’ve chosen to review.
Falling for the Omega was self published in 2018 by C.W. Gray. Grey included a cute note
in his book saying that this was his first attempt at Omegaverse fiction and he hopes
people like it and I guess that they did because he went on to write fifty billion other ABO
novels between then and now.
Synopsis:
A physically scarred but very kind and gentle war veteran Alpha called Carter moves to a
small town in Maine and instantly falls in love with a local fun loving and cutesy Omega
named Elijah.
Elijah is something of a pariah around the slightly judgmental town because he got pregnant
as a teen and is a single parent.
He takes to Carter as instantly as the alpha took to him. Their romance starts off strong
and intensifies exponentially with every passing day.
There is zero drama between the leads in the entire story. They’re both smitten with
each other from the moment they meet and both perfectly equally keen to rush into moving
in together, marriage and getting pregnant within weeks of meeting.
They both think that they are the lucky one in the relationship, Carter because he’s
found someone who’s actually into his scars and Elijah because Carter doesn't give a shit
that he’s a single dad and also they both find the other absolutely stunning.
What stakes the story does have comes from Elijah’s neglectful abusive parents coming
back into his life and trying to extort money from his family but this is resolved pretty
quickly by Carter marrying him and the local town realising that they’ve been too hard
on Elijah and rallying behind him.
Everything gets wrapped up pretty perfectly at the end and they live happily ever after.
I’m not going to lie, I was completely and utterly taken aback by just how ridiculously
wholesome this novella was.
It's got small town community, it's got super respecting the troops, it's got hard core
family values, morals and messages of loyalty and kindness.
If it werent for the two very short and reasonably tasteful sex scenes I would have said that
this was more wholesome than the AMISH romance novel I reviewed.
It's definitely the most saccharine thing I’ve ever encountered, the experience of
reading this book is rather akin to being hit in the face with a concentrated beam of
sunshine and vomiting pure sugar.
And it's not just the utterly conflict free, immediate, intense, lovey dovey wuv between
leads, there’s a little five year old girl that they’re raising together and gods damn
her pure unfettered joy and open trusting heart.
I swear on my life the best way that I can describe this story is: Imagine if you snuck
into the library of a middle aged Christian, Republican mother, stole her favorite conservative
love story and as a practical joke edited an Omega into the role of the single mom without
changing any of the other details.
That said, I eventually came to a sudden and rather sad realization. I could be wrong here
but it seems to me that despite the very sexual origins of the Omegaverse, this book is not
catering to a sexual fetish, it's more of an acceptance fetish.
I hadn’t really considered this because I’m an outsider who had never read any of
the books before but Alpha Beta Omega stories do appear to provide an escapist fantasy of
a universe where gay men don’t have to constantly fight for approval or validation of their
existence.
In this world they are and have always been scientifically proven to be born with their
sexuality and they don’t have to prove anything to anyone to get married or start a family.
Old fashioned conservative grandparents good naturedly nag their grandsons about finding
a nice man to settle down with and they make hints about putting rings on fingers asap.
Now obviously this isn’t supposed to imply that all gay men sit at home wishing their
love life could be basically “heteronormative but with men” but as someone who’s never
known what it’s like to go without these privileges it was just a little melancholy
for me to think about how exhausted this book’s fanbase must be if they get enjoyment out
of reading about things that a straight reader would consider pretty day to day, cliche or
even mildly annoying.
I wouldn’t say that the writing in this book is bad, it's just as I said, dangerous
levels of saccharine and honestly a little two dimensional. The good guys are kind and
caring beyond realistic belief, the bad guys are evil as shit and the love is instantaneous,
pure, and eternal. Zero nuance to be found on any page.
Oh and FYI the body issues inducing cover is a total lie, Elijah is described as having
a very average body for a guy.
So yeah not bad but not what I was expecting to the point that I figured I was definitely
going to have to review another book as well to make sure I got a balanced experience with
this genre. I went back to my friend and asked her to recommend me something a little...
...dirtier.
Daddy Wanted, also published in 2018 is a book by Piper Scott and Susi Hawke. Apparently
Piper Scott is the pen name of three writers who work together so I guess this book has
between two and four authors.
Synopsis:
An up and coming Omega rockstar called Toby can’t manage his own life due to emotional
dysfunction and a severe case of unmedicated ADD and is endangering a life changing record
deal through his public bad behaviour.
He figures he can help his life and fulfill his sexual kinks in one fell swoop when he
sees an ad for an agency that hires out daddy dom master alphas.
Yeah this one leans super hard into the BDSM. There's a contract and everything. Despite
my trepidation regarding this I would actually recommend this as a palate cleanser for anyone
who was subjected to the horror of Fifty Shades.
Everyone involved is enthusiastically into their role in the sub/dom dynamic, the power
ratio is even and respectful, the communication is good and the consent is clear.
Toby hires a gorgeous older guy called Thorne to be his daddy and he immediately starts
whipping his life into shape. If Toby acts out or does something that might damage his
public image Thorne, uh… punishes him.
Amusingly Toby’s punishments and rewards are both spankings but delivered differently.
Thorne appears to perform a very complex and extensive role in Toby’s life. He becomes
a combination of life coach, lover, manager, trainer, bodyguard and fixer.
I asked my friend if this was normal for a daddy sub relationship and apparently it's
a bit extreme but not unheard of.
It’s fortunate that Thorne has such a positive effect on Toby’s life because the poor lad
starts having to deal with one shitty thing happening to him after another, first finding
out that half of his band is trying to force him out, then that the last orgy that he took
part in before getting back on the wagon had left him pregnant, and he has to start dealing
with some serious stalking incidents from an obsessed Alpha fan.
Thorne sticks with him throughout and not very surprisingly the Alpha and Omega fall
for each other pretty hard. When it’s suggested that Thorne fake-marry Toby to pretend to
be his baby daddy he readily agrees.
Eventually there is a tiny disagreement and a small amount of tension between the leads
but it's immediately forgotten when Toby’s stalker makes two serious attempts to kidnap
him. Fortunately both incidents are resolved fairly quickly.
DADDY PUNCH!
Thorne and Toby admit they’re in love and make their relationship permanent and their
marriage real, all the other issues are sorted out and Toby goes on to win a Grammy.
The power dynamic in this one is interesting. While the Omega enthusiastically submits to
the Alpha in day to day matters, he is still the rich famous rockstar here. Thorne is employed
there on Toby’s suffrage and could be easily dismissed at any time.
He’s also not afraid to stand his ground on the one occasion where he feels Thorne
is patronising him in the not fun way.
Unfortunately there was one thing that seriously turned me off this book and it has nothing
to do with the Omegaverse or smut or anything like that.
After Toby reveals that he had stopped taking his ADD medication in the very incorrect belief
that he didn’t need it anymore I kept waiting for Thorne or one of the other level headed
people in his life to suggest that maybe he start taking it again or see another doctor
about it but… That just never happens.
The only people who even bring up him getting treatment for it is his mean, selfish, controlling
borderline neglectful parents and as that description implies it’s not exactly portrayed
as a positive suggestion.
I don’t necessarily think it was intentional but this book pushes a lifestyle changes over
medication message and I just really really don’t like those.
Yes positive changes to behaviour can help but running shoes and fresh air will never
cure depression, there's nothing wrong or embarrassing with getting medical help for
mental health issues, and you wouldn’t treat ANY other illness as prescribed medication
optional.
There may or may not have also been a low key pro life message. Toby was pretty adamant
that abortion wasn’t an option despite not appearing to have any interest in fatherhood.
But then again mpreg is one of the staples of the Omegaverse so it would be a little
weird if he didn’t want to keep the kid.
So yes very much the polar opposite of the first novel in regards to kink, but they still
have quite a bit else in common by the looks of things.
Bad parents who don’t support their children or approve of their lifestyle choices was
a recurring theme in both. I can’t say I’m super surprised to find this in LGBTQ literature.
And both stories involved a marriage that was on the surface an act of convenience or
to solve a problem but underneath was genuinely romantic.
Will they/won’t they does not appear to be a common plot driver in this sort of thing.
In both stories there was little to no conflict between the two lovers. All the drama comes
from external factors that their love helps them through.
I don’t know if these things are prevalent in all Omegaverse works or if it's just a
coincidence that it's in these two, but I found it interesting.
In conclusion I think that I underestimated Alpha Beta Omega fiction a wee bit. It might
have started as one horny horny dude wanting to read about the Winchester brothers banging
in public but it has since evolved into a pretty fucking versatile genre that with a
good author behind it can put forth as good a romance story as any other.
It's still not my kind of thing but now that I’ve looked into it I think that I have
developed more respect for it and hope that writers and fans of it continue to thrive.
Thank you for joining me, my beautiful watchers… I’m afraid I can’t think of a clever segway
between the idea of men getting pregnant and how important it is to leave likes and comments
on YouTube videos to help with the engagement stats so I’ll just say that if you do feel
inclined to do so I will be in your debt. Please take care of yourselves out there and
I will see you soon.
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Diiirtier.
Dirtier.
Diiirtier.
I’m not going to lie, I :crack: oww my bones.
Alphas tend to be physically larger and stronger than other men, I shouldn’t do that, it’s
going to imply that I think I’m an alpha.
Taking a cat break, taking a cat break. Little panther, hello. You’re on camera, say hello
to our people. No? “Release me, release me you foul human!”
It’s also been known to dip its toes into, oh! I didn’t finish that sentence.
Omegaverse seems to truly be just a place to set your stor… “Set the story people
you want..?” What the hell did I write here?
:geese honking: Fuck off geese.
Pretty fucking versatile genre with a gr-br-buh-bah-buh-bah!