#tldr is

[beefcakeash]

please elise please enlighten me on the appeal of omegaverse. I don’t understand it, someone’s bossy and the kind of authoritative that makes me anxious, someone’s horny and a little bit manic, maybe more than one in each category, and idk aboutthe other guy/s. is it meant to be hot? explain it to me like I grew up in a cave and don’t know what sex is

i cannot put into words how obsessed i am with this becoming my reputation . i will do my best to enlighten the people!!

(extremely long) essay below the cut <3

as you read this keep in mind that i only consume m/m content. idk how they do things on the other side of the tracks

quick run down before i yap:

secondary gender: status as alpha/beta/omega

alpha: traditionally seen as dominant, brutish, controlling. has a "rut" and usually a knot

beta: basically a regular human, sometimes with scents (depending on authors preference). typically seen as the neutral in society.

omega: traditionally seen as submissive, subservient, and weak. has a "heat" and, in some instances are fertile (again, depends on if author is into mpreg (personally no thanks))

i'm splitting this into two sections because i think both are important

the explanation:

based on your ask it seems like a lot of what you don't like about omegaverse is the smut. which is fair! it's kinda weird (until one day a switch flips and you're like oh yes this is good) and i think a lot of people feel this way about it.

(however i will say, one of the best things about omegaverse is that its ~fake~. a lot of fics have no knotting, no slick, etc. that's what's great about it!! authors can write what they like and what they're comfy with. there are no Rules)

i think, though, what makes omegaverse good is not the smut. some of the best fics i've read have had little to no smut scenes. i'm working on a fic rn that won't have any! what makes omegaverse good is the dynamics.

omegaverse is primal at its core. it focuses on instinct and the five senses in a way that can really make traditional attraction more fun! not only to read but to write, too. it's not just oh this guy is so cute, it's this guy feels/smells/tastes like safe.

a really important aspect to me is the dynamics of a pack. the emphasis on friendship and chosen family is so important. we all have people that are our people and omegaverse takes that and runs with it. having a character go from feeling alone in the world to having people that not only make them happy but make them feel safe and content on an instinctual level? that's beautiful.

and then there's the romance. hoooo boy i love the romance.

but what makes the romance Good is, once again, the dynamics. there's this idea that omegaverse is all just weak omegas who need some dominant alpha to take care of them - and some of it is! but i think that this is where authors get it wrong. what makes these relationships good and interesting is going against this idea. transforming this traditional way of thinking into something more complex. omegas aren't all helpless or weak or less than when they don't have an alpha mate. alphas aren't all power hungry and brutish people who want to control a helpless omega.

giving these characters depth and personality outside of their secondary gender is So important. it's referred to as "secondary" for a reason!

it's not "oh you smell good and you're cute lets bite each other and have rough sex." it's "you make me feel complete, i want to spend forever with you and satisfy your needs at the most intimate, baseline level."

what i think makes omegaverse so interesting is breaking out of what people assume of it. any good story, regardless of the universe/trope, shocks the reader. characters need depth! every character isn't just a joe schmo with no personality.

political omegas, serving alphas, betas with tendencies typical to other genders - that's what makes omegaverse fun !

my Opinions on omegaverse:

i think one of the things that makes me such a connoisseur of omegaverse is that i am picky. to this day, i consider there to be only 1, maybe 2 good quality omegaverse fics in the 5sos slash community (not counting smutshots. there're a couple good ones)

and that's not anything against the authors! it's not about writing quality or anything like that. it's about breaking the barriers i mentioned before. creating characters with depth in a universe that appears black and white.

a huge (and valid) criticism of omegaverse is that it's an excuse to write a largely misogynistic universe, and it's true that some authors reflect that. every author has the right to their own creations and to whatever tropes they want, even if they're objectively immoral.

but that doesn't mean i have to read them!

one of my personal grievances with omegaverse is the common erasure of homophobia. i think this ties in a lot with the misogyny thing, because in making a world where primary genders don't matter (and, ahem, mpreg exists) you're essentially feminizing one half of the pairing. and, of course, that half is the traditionally subservient omega. omegas are also commonly described as appearing more feminine, being smaller, being maternal. sorry, but that's just not my blorbo!

i'm writing 2024 ashton irwin, of course he's not feminine !! and i'm not going to change the way he looks just to fit him into a box. at that point just write an OC.

but back to the homophobia, in erasing such a huge aspect of culture you're removing so much depth from the story line. i don't think that queer history should be erased in these universes, especially as the standard.

traditionally/historically in omegaverse, the purpose of mating is to reproduce, just like in real life! there should be history to the trope that same sex couples face backlash. the whole thing is based on instincts to keep the human race alive, of course people still have Opinions about it even within a different context.

basically, i think too many people focus on the horny d/s aspect of omegaverse, and fail to really see all the different dynamics that can be explored.

each combination of gender + secondary gender is different, and that should be reflected in fic.

------

i shall end this rant with a fic rec. this is the One omegaverse fic that i think really ties my opinions together.

!! TW: untagged sexual assault , discussions of sexual assault , and if i remember correctly there may be a scene where the main character actually witnesses SA. Please read with caution.

Le Chatelier's Principle by LyricalPary

[sushiisiu]

im not gay greg.jpg

[nat-20s]

i think perhaps the most annoying/exhausting phenomenon in existence is when something kind of genuinely sucks but it has, like, a female lead or whatever so half the people that are saying it sucks are nightmare people that unironically call things "woke garbage" and the other half are people that just like. have a basic sense of story structure and knowledge of character arcs as a concept that quite reasonable think this thing sucks. BUT it gets assumed that 100% of people who think it sucks are in that first half and then there's a backlash TO the backlash and all along it's still not a good fucking story. I call this "The twilight phenomena" because it got a lot of hate because of a mockery of teenage girls when it had well deserved hate for the like racism and misogyny and the throwaway detail that a grown ass man is somehow romantic soulmates with a quite literal baby.

[hoshizoralone]

reflection

[stpansy]

so telling to me how some of you would rather completely write off appalachian and southern states than extend compassion and solidarity to the poc and queer people who live here and lead lives just as valuable as anyone’s in a blue state. living under a nearly constant suppressive government is an uphill battle that i and those i am in solidarity with choose to fight every day and the results of the an election we showed up for despite the overwhelming odds do not mean we as a whole deserve to be discarded

[soaked-doors]

a comic about wine, a wager, and reconnecting through your weird kids

-

this behemoth of a comic is finally done - and just in time for zoros birthday huehue. initially i wanted to make a zolu introspective from an outsider POV and was like you know who would have really funny input on this … mihawk. and then it spiraled into seven pages of mishanks sitting and talking. i thought it would be funny if mishanks ended up doing self imposed couples therapy the day mihawk brought luffys bounty bc well. its kind of hilarious to think abt mihawk realizing shanks was onto something all those years ago after he meets zoro and luffy. like sure this new generation is batshit crazy but my god are they cooking. anyways. cheers. get some kids

[beloveds-embrace]

(thinking of dragon john price wanting your chubby self as an addition to his hoard 😩)

The first time John Price walks into your café, it’s because he needs something strong to shake the weariness from his old bones. The bell above the door chimes, and the warmth of roasted beans and sugar wraps around him like a comfort he didn’t know he needed.

And then he sees you.

You’re behind the counter, moving with easy confidence, soft hands making quick work of a steaming pitcher of milk. There’s a warmth in your smile when you greet him, eyes bright, cheeks plush and inviting. Something in his chest tightens- something ancient, something hungry.

He doesn’t speak at first, just rumbles out his order in that low, gravelly timbre of his, but he watches you. The way your hands move, steady and capable. The way your curves shift as you reach for a cup, the fabric of your uniform stretching over the swell of your stomach, your hips. You’re soft. Lush. And suddenly, John forgets what it was he came in for beyond you.

The coffee you place in front of him is perfect. He barely tastes it.

After that, he starts coming in more often.

At first, it’s under the excuse of needing a pick-me-up before work, but then it becomes something else entirely. A routine. A habit. A hoarding. He brings trinkets sometimes- small things, barely noticeable at first. A shiny coin from some distant country, left on the counter as a tip. A sleek, carved wooden bracelet he insists on you wearing. A packet of specialty tea, even though this is a coffee shop, because he thought you might like it. And you do, the smile you give him always so pretty, so soft, like most humans are, except none of them is you.

It’s instinct, this need to gift, to gather, to keep.

And when other men linger too long at the counter, when they smile at you just a little too wide, John bristles. His shoulders square, big wings soreading ever so slightly, the scales along his tail sharpening. He makes himself big, more than he already is, and lets his presence fill the space until they think better of their flirting and take their coffee to go.

He doesn’t like them looking at what’s his.

Not yet, not officially- but he’s working on that.

Because you don’t know it yet, his sweet barista, but John has already made up his mind. You belong with him, with them. In his hoard, where he can keep you warm and safe, where he and his men can adore you properly.

You just haven’t figured it out yet.

(Reblogs for more)

[marinewaltz]

daily life on board the ARK. even if he couldn't help cure her i think it would be nice if shadow helped maria in managing her illness

[montyfinchirl]

A dead boy with a cricket bat and a magic backpack: if you wanna get to him you have to go through me!

Another dead boy who spent over 70 years in hell AND clawed his way out of it, is an insanely skilled magic user, doesn’t even notice when he’s burnt by iron, and got up and started walking around like he was in barely any pain after being trapped in a machine for half an hour that evaporates other ghosts in SECONDS: :3

[spiderbitesandvampirevenom]

STOP TREATING THE USAMERICAN COLONIAL PROJECT LIKE IT IS COMPLETE!!!!! it is an active settler-colony, and by acting like it's not actively colonizing the land it is on you are literally doing their job for them. you all are like five minutes away from lamenting the fucking vanishing indian.

[infectiouspiss]

there's someone in my inbox saying porn didn't exist until the 70's what

[fishbloc]

ashes to ashes, dust to dust

[zipsunz]

we all have to play our part 🪶

[itsscaredycat]

ah yes…

my thoughts under the cut (turned out to be longer than initially intended lol)

honestly, kinda mixed feelings :’)

it’s great that the fandom is making a comeback because gravity falls is seriously an amazing piece of media, and all the offshoots that came from the main series are equally incredible. it deserves this second wave of attention and more! still one of my favourites, all the mysteries and secret codes back in the day changed my brain chemistry lmao

as far as personal feelings go, i can’t believe the amount of people i’ve had tell me that i inspired them in some way to be an artist through my old gravity falls art, it’s amazing! and i am so flattered and happy that i could have that kind of positive influence on people. art is my passion and knowing i had a hand in making it other people’s as well is a really cool feeling :’) i read every single message i get in my askbox and some of them have made me legitimately emotional (in a good way)

but then on the opposite side, there are a lot of people— most of whom i have never interacted with— who have a fully formed opinion on me based on actions of mine that are almost a decade old. just knowing that has been crippling, i’m ND and i’ve always struggled with anxiety issues surrounding how others think of me. it feels kinda hopeless and scary, because there is no way my current actions and the ways i’ve changed will ever reach all of them. but i’m only human, all i can do is focus on the positive and keep being kind in both my offline and online lives, and hope it comes back around

the shy part of me wishes i was just another person in the fandom so that i could share my art without fear of hateful comments, but also having made enough of an impact that something i made got acknowledged in “canon” is hilarious and pretty fucking cool (shoutout to @valdevia LOL) i’m just gonna keep doing what i’ve always done: make art because it makes me happy, and share it in hopes it will make others happy too 🩷

[corvus-frugilegus]

The real tragedy of the Dellamortes is how inevitable Illario's betrayal was.

Caterina's refusal to really see either of her grandsons for who they are sets all three of them on this path. Lucanis's mother was Caterina's favourite, she was probably the person Caterina had in mind to succeed her. That loss, the loss of so much of Caterina's legacy had to have been devastating. She'd built so much and it was all torn away in a single conflict. All she has left in the wake of it is two young boys and this tenacity that will not allow her to give up on what she's built.

So she puts it all on Lucanis. The son of her favourite (bonus angst if he looks like his mother). She's unable to see this sweet boy who loves wyverns and just had his life ripped apart for who he is. She just see's her legacy. The daughter she lost. She puts it all into him, he's pushed into the role of favourite.

Lucanis responds to this by shoving down the parts of himself she doesn't want to see- his gentle heart, his love of wyverns, the little boy who needs to be loved. If he's good enough, strong enough, the perfect crow, the perfect granson- then and only then will she love him, will he be safe.

And then you have Illario! There isn't as much to go on in the text about his family or what he was like as a boy but there's a few things we can pretty confidently infer. Like Lucanis, Illario violently loses everything he has at a very young age. All he has left are the other two Dellamorte's.

But he isn't the child of Caterina's favourite. She isn't automatically putting all of her legacy on his shoulders the way she does Lucanis. He still gets the training, and what we do see in the wigmaker job and the wake and even in the codex entires in the game is that Illario does become a comptent and capable crow. He has a level of skill that I suspect is broadly expected of house Dellamorte, he was trained by the first talon herself. But the Illario we meet as an adult has this laissez-faire affect and presents himself as a seducer and a bit of a peakcock. He also very overtly refers to himself as Dellamorte-the-lesser and at the end of the wigmaker job when they're discussing the title of first talon you can feel the resentment below the surface.

For Illario it's not about the power and the prestige that comes from the title of first talon. It's not even about having the title itself. It's about FINALLY earning Caterina's love and respect. Things he undoubtly never felt as a boy.

How could he? When he's a child the only two people he has left in the world have this special bond that he never gets to be a part of. His only caretaker has a clear favourite and she shows it. He's lived his whole life in Lucanis's shadow, and a shadow that Lucanis never wanted to cast! Which if anything just adds insult to injury for Illario.

Lucanis has everything Illario wants and he doesn't even want it.

I imagine as a boy Illario tries SO HARD to win her love, her favour, he'll do anything to feel like he's loved and wanted and valued. And when after YEARS it doesn't work even though Lucanis clearly doesn't want the role he's been forced into? Illario gets resentful, he gets angry, he starts acting up. He becomes the suave peacock, the grandson who fucks up sometimes- probably not because he's bad at being a crow but because at least Caterina's ire is attention. It's a scrap of love.

Illario and Lucanis love each other. They're brothers. Illario resents Lucanis for being loved and favoured. Lucanis wants nothing more than to give it all to Illario. Illario doesn't want that he wants Caterina to love him on his own merit. At the same time (pre-inner demons) Lucanis will never actually give the title up because it means he's loved, he's valued, he matters.

The title of first talon has been synonymous with emotional safety and love for these two for their entire lives, and it's twisted them up so badly.

The real irony of it all is that this whole time Illario is so much more like the person Caterina wants Lucanis to be. Her heir, the Dellamorte best suited to be the next first talon has been right there infront of her all along, but she's so caught up in grief and legacy she misses it. She never really see's either of her grandsons for who they are.

I actually suspect that when it all comes to light, even though she's furious with him, Caterina finally starts to see what she's been overlooking in Illario all along. And Lucanis who's started to heal... well I think she's starting to see him too, and the truth of who he is is something she'll struggle to face.

When the day finally comes that Lucanis tells her he doesn't want the job, when him and Illario both accept that their lives have meaning outside of Caterina's opinion of them, is the day that the Dellamorte's can maybe start to really see each other.

[gracefireheart]

A few sketches of these guys :]