Omegaverse: Tentative Trope Page (submitted for review).

Having come across a previous thread about the Omegaverse genre, citing a lack of tropes/definition as the reason there isn't a specific Omegaverse page, I have written a tentative Trope Page for this genre of online fiction. It has been provided below:

Omegaverse is a very specific genre of fiction, originating in online fanfiction, in which humans are divided into three distinct biological castes. Normal humans are called Betas, and make up the majority of the population. Alphas are larger, more muscular, and more masculine than Betas. Omegas, by contrast, are smaller, more gracile, more submissive, and more feminine than Betas.

Omegaverse fiction first originated on Live Journal in 2010, as a result of cross-pollination between the fandom for Dark Angel and Supernatural, due to actor Jensen Ackles starring in both. The Kirk/Spock shipping movement in the Star Trek fandom was also a noted source of inspiration. The genre's Ur-Example was a Live Journal prompt in which there were both Alpha Males and "Bitch Males" (precursor to the Omega Male). The genre was eventually codified in its present form, and broke out of the Supernatural fandom, by June of 2011.

!!Omegaverse contains examples of the following:

* Alpha and Beta Wolves: Non-lupine example- one of the main basic premises of Omegaverse fiction is the division of human society into "Alpha", "Beta", and "Omega" humans. Alphas are larger, more muscular, and more masculine than "Beta" (ie. normal) humans, and are frequently depicted using "Alpha Wolf" stereotypes. Omegas, conversely, are smaller, more gracile, and more feminine than Betas, and are often very submissive.

* Bizarre Human Biology: Alpha Females and Omega Males are both hermaphrodites, while Alpha Males (and in some cases, Alpha Females) have a canine-like bulbus glandis.

* Blanket Fort: Omegas are frequently stereotyped as "nesting", which are often depicted as small in-house forts made of pillows and blankets, which Omegas will often instinctively make when nervous or expecting.

* Claimed by the Supernatural: Alphas will sometimes bite an Omega that they are physically or sexually attracted to in order to 'Claim' them, leaving a bite mark that will prevent the Omega from being attracted to anyone else (and prevent other Alphas from being attracted to the Omega).

* Depending on the Writer: The mechanics, physiology, and reproductive anatomy of Alphas and Omegas can vary between authors.

* Early-Installment Weirdness: The prompt that started the Omegaverse genre referred to Omega males as "bitch males".

* Fantastic Caste System: Alphas are often depicted as forming an Omegaverse society's upper or warrior classes, while Omegas are usually submissive and either an oppressed underclass (that often goes into hiding) or relegated to service and hospitality industries.

* Fandom-Specific Plot: Omegaverse stories are as likely to be AU fanfics of pre-existing franchises as they are not.

* Frivolous Lawsuit: One of the things that the Omegaverse as a genre is most famous for (besides the MPreg) is Addison Cain's 2018 lawsuit against Zoey Ellis for copyright infringement, in which Cain had basically claimed ownership of an entire genre and its formulas and conventions.

* Hermaphrodite: Both Omega Males and Alpha Females are fully-functional hermaphrodites with both sets of reproductive organs.

* Homosexual Reproduction: Gay couples where one (or both) men are Omega Males, and lesbian couples where one (or both) women are Alpha Females, are as capable as procreating as a heterosexual couple.

* Mating Season Mayhem: Omegas go into Heat whenever the ovulate, releasing a pheromone or odor that can induce Rut (a state of increased sexual arousal) in Alphas. Omegas are often incapable of controlling their heats, and Alphas are often incapable of controlling themselves when in rut.

* Mister Seahorse: Omega Males are as capable of getting pregnant as Alpha, Beta, or Omega females are. This trope is one of the most famously associated with Omegaverse, to the point of this trope being used as the definition of Omegaverse in Google Definitions, and the trope page on This Very Wiki has a brief summary of Omegaverse on the trope's fanfic examples page.

* My Instincts Are Showing: Both Alphas and Omegas are often depicted as having animalistic instincts, especially when an Alpha is in rut or an Omega

* Not Safe for Work: Given the Omegaverse's origins and strong associations with online erotica, an Omegaverse story being NSFW is pretty much given as a default.

* Signature Scent: Alphas and Omegas have their own unique scents, the former of which can use to 'Claim' the latter.

* Smart Animal, Inconvenient Instincts: a rare non-Furry and non-sapient-animal example, since Alphas and Omegas both have some animalistic instincts (mostly pertaining to rut/heat).

I'm personally not a fan of pages that trope genres as if they were works of their own.

"Submitting a draft for review" is the purview of Trope Launch Pad. In fact, there's one such draft here. Feel free to contribute there.

Plus, we're already drafting an Omegaverse page on the Trope Launch Pad. You don't get pages to pass by submitting them to the forums.

Edit:

Edited by WarJay77 on May 22nd 2023 at 10:46:22 AM