#omegaverse analysis

[lillowing]

A Transfemme reading of jagged edges by ramblingarachnid

Hello friends i am back with more fic analysis 

There is a silly little fic written by ramblingarachnid which people have said many a time is transfem coded. It’s expressed confusion at this, so I thought I would go line by line to everything that is even remotely transfemme coded and explaining why. This is less fic analysis and more, focused reading? But I thought it could be interesting! Also, I will use transfemme/trans women/tgirl pretty interchangeably here. I won’t use agab language, or “biological” language. If this is an issue for you, don’t read! Also, brief mentions of genitalia in this post. No smut.

Text from the fic is italicized. I won’t recap the plot here, or walk you through it. Go read it, if you haven’t! It’s not too long. 

- Mira is a beta, according to her official profile with the agency, all public communications, and anyone who has known her since the age of 14.

And that’s all that really matters, right? If she can suppress the ruts, pretend she can’t smell any of the pheromones, avoid popping a boner around a hormonal omega, and tell everyone she’s a beta, then she’s a beta.

-

Nothing too explicit yet. We’ll draw many parallels between a/b/o dynamics and transness, but it doesn’t start tooooo much yet. Mainly just quoting this to mention the “popping the boner” quote. Nothing new to alpha writing, but this is a fear for obvious reasons. Especially with the mention of “ever since 14”, a lot of trans women get heavy discomfort near the front of puberty, which 14 is for a lot of us. 

-

Alphas taking heat suppressants isn’t completely unheard of, but it isn’t really safe or effective either. Mira is sure any reputable doctor would be appalled, but the one she pays to do whatever she asks isn’t exactly the pinnacle of ethics.

-

While HRT is very safe and effective, the mention of “Alpha Suppresants” will be compared to HRT significantly throughout this commentary so I’m establishing it here. Also, Mira thinking that ordering the meds online through a shady doctor could be drawn to buying HRT on the gray market. It feels a little shady, even if its not. 

-

“Morning.” She says. She knows she looks pissed off, but it’s a normal-enough look for her that she doesn’t bother to hide it. She pours herself a bowl of cereal and takes it out to the couch, doing her best to ignore the stench of both of them. After all, they think she can’t smell it.

“Morning, Mira!” Zoey says, sighing contentedly into Rumi’s arms. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine, after I put in some earplugs,” she jokes. Sometimes she wonders how she could have gotten so upset with Rumi’s secret-keeping. She’s such a hypocrite.

-

Two things here. One, Mira being upset at her roommates PDA isn’t explicitly transfemme coded. Though I would argue that the experience of feeling… excluded from our female peers, even if they don’t mean it, can hurt. I know every time I found out my friends had a sleepover without me (because I was different really hurt. And Mira feeling left out for being a beta isn’t too different, if you squint.) The main thing here though is the secret keeping line. If you’re stealth or not. Coming out as trans sucks every time, so a lot of us don’t! And it feels horrible. Poor Mira. 

-

It’s not that she’s particularly bothered by the relationship. It’s cute, actually. But the smells, the sounds, the reminders of her own body and the things she can never have because of her weird hangups… she’s just jealous of their comfort with it all. She’s jealous of the way they love each other. 

-

This is gender envy, lol. Once again, I have been envious of my female friend’s relationships many times before HRT. Especially trans women that deny themselves from lesbian experiences due to their genitalia. Seeing what’s often your closest friends enjoy something you have denied yourself sucks. - “It’s Mira. My pills got stolen. Tell him I need a new prescription yesterday.” She sounds harsh, but this is an emergency. 

-

Here’s where the “Alpha Suppresants = HRT” start properly. Obviously, having your meds stolen is a universally shitty experience. However, I’d like to point out her doctor saying: “You’ve been through a rut before. You’re just going to have to tough it out, I’m sorry.” He does sound sympathetic, but sympathy doesn’t do shit for her right now.

This has happened to me before, with friends. When I had to go a week or two without HRT, and being told “well, it’s not like you’ll die without it. Your T will just be high for a few days! It’s not like, insulin.” The frustration that Mira feels here is very similar to the frustration that trans women feel, lol. 

-

What is she going to tell her friends? Shit, are they going to smell her? Is she going to smell the way Rumi does, all horny and desperate and, well, attractive? 

-

This is meant in an a/b/o pheromone kind of way, but. A lot of trans women, including myself, report our B/O reducing significantly on HRT. Reducing and changing. The fear of being smelt is not an omegaverse exclusive here, it is an odd coincidence back to something about T. (And, before anyone says anything. I’ve had this argument. Yes, I was cleaning myself properly. I changed nothing about my cleanliness routine and my B/O reduced after dropping my T.) - She knows it’s a bad stereotype that alphas can’t control themselves. She knows it’s not true, she’s seen Rumi be perfectly lucid even at the height of Zoey’s heat. But that’s Rumi, and, well, Mira doesn’t trust herself. She’s never trusted herself. She’s a loose cannon.

-

Finally, we can start the Testosterone comparisons! Alphas in fanfics are: Dominant, assertive, stinky, possessive, physically stronger, have penises, and have strong urges. Essentially if you threw in every trait of western “manliness” into a soup and simmered it for hours. A lot of these traits are caused by testosterone. (Physically. Mentally, the changes are iffy if they even exist. Read Testosterone Rex by Cordelia Fine for more!) I’ll also go a step further in tying the metaphors together. Mira worries what being an alpha (on Testosterone) will do to her. She has a close friend who is like this, and she knows that close friend isn’t like that, but still worries about herself. I feel like this is similar to being a transfemme with transmasc friends! We tend to loathe testosterone, and admittedly play up it’s effects when complaining. But then we turn around and swear up and down that our trans male friends aren’t like that. (Or, we should. Don’t be weird about transmascs, pls.) Because, of course, we know intuitively testosterone does not make a monster. Testosterone doesn’t make you insane, aggressive, or whatever. But we still fear that due to societal expectations of us being predators, abusers, wolfs in sheep clothing. Like societal expectations of Alphas. 

-

Mira is on edge the next few days, constantly smelling herself, reapplying deodorant, washing her hands. She’s snippy and stressed, which she can tell upsets Zoey.

-

Odor mention again. Also, snippy and stressed. Lots of tgirls mention this when low on E, especially those of us on injections when our cycles are at a low. 

-

She wakes up to a pool of sweat and hellfire under her skin. Her equipment is fully hard, straining against her pajamas. She ignores it.

-

Once again a puberty dysphoria. 

-

Mira groans as her stomach cramps up again with need, the same feeling that had her screaming for suppressants as a young teenager. This time, though, she wants them, not some random omega off a magazine cover, and it disgusts her a little that she would think of her friends that way.

-

Trans lesbian experience of villainizing your own attraction. See above about societal expectations around us being predators. Hell, even cis lesbians have this guilt too, it’s just extra strong with a lot of tgirls. 

-

It doesn’t take her long to finish like that, knot swelling beneath the layers of clothing between them. 

-

Sex between clothes, common dysphoric response. 

-

“Isn’t that, like, super dangerous?” Zoey’s concern returns. All she’d ever heard was that alphas should never take heat suppressants, that it was practically suicidal to do so, not to mention shameful. But she hadn’t read all the articles, forum posts, and books Mira had. She hadn’t made a pro/con list with RUT underlined in red seven times.

“Only if you care about staying fertile. Mostly. And it’s not that bad. It’s far better than the alternative.”

-

Loved ones not being educated on what HRT does. Parroting concerns from friends and family of “Are you sure” and “I heard this was dangerous!” And, the fertility mention. Something HRT famously does, that if you go through the medical system you have to sign a thousand forms saying you know and don’t care. Some countries even have the gall to make you freeze sperm. God. 

-

“I’m not a real alpha, I never will be, and people seeing me that way makes me feel so wrong.” 

-

Common dysphoric response. Also, quote from my own coming out: “I’ve never been much of a man, anyway. It just makes me feel awful to be seen that way.” - “Ruts, sex, it just feels like torture for me.” 

-

While not every trans women is dysphoric about her equipment, this is still a very common attitude I’ve observed in myself and friends over the years. 

-

“Even if I don’t want to mate… I still want what you two have. I want the bond, I want to belong.”

-

See above. I won’t write a whole thing on like, “Avoiding sex because of dysphoria” but it’s definitely a thing. And it doesn’t make you any less wanting of love and connection, even if you deny yourself because of what’s between your legs. 

-

“Of all the things I want suppressed and knocked out of me, that isn’t one of them. I’ve always kind of stupidly hoped someone would want to bond with me, some omega—or, hell, alpha—would decide I was worth it anyways. That someone would be willing to love me in just the ways I’m okay with, and somehow deal with everything else without me… it’s selfish, but I still want it.”

-

Very common thought. It speaks for itself. 

-

-smiling into the mirror at her reflection for the first time in a very long time. 

-

Add in some mirror avoidance to top it all off, why don’t you V. 

And that’s all the references I caught! Keep in mind, ramblingarachnid did not write this parallel intentionally. I do not know what possessed him to write this omegaverse fic with no smut, but I’m glad he did! I think there’s actually really interesting and thoughtful discussions to be had around a/b/o’s worldbuilding and how sexism is baked into the genre. But you can take that and flip it on it’s head to make interesting comparisons, like this fic. I think intentionally taking “Alpha is basically a sexist view of men” and going “Yeah, and this fic is exploring the issues of that.” It’s neat. It’s weird. I like it! Also, if you like the above writing or world, it posted a prequel/sequel to the same ao3. Go read it! It’s good. 

[thebonesinmycloset]

my omegaverse anatomy explained!

posting this so some of my future posts can make more sense without mental gymnastics or explainations in the tags. I'm someone who likes developing anatomy. so I've put more then a little thought into it.

all people, regardless of primary sex, are born as hermaphordites, in terms of external anatomy. both have something akin to an underdeveloped penis and vagina. thought the penis is more like something between a penis and a clit. and all people have hymens, and they're actually an important part of anatomy.

"puppy cunts" becomes a well known term. alongside hymen breaking becoming a practice, because all people, outside of a portion of the intersex population, have one.

this anatomy operates under the idea that primary sexes came first in evolution, and secondary genders came second. because male and females will go through the presentation process and have different alpha/omega anatomy.

when male alphas present, their hymen fully closes the vagina, while the testes descend more or less into the labia to create the external sack (though, aesthetically, I actually love semi internal balls, where the sacks themselves hug the body, over saggy pink hacky sacks).

this is why pre-presentation sex can be so dangerous. because if the hymen is damanged, a male alpha can have issues presenting. and amongst other risks, can leave them susceptiable of not fully presenting, and being easier to bitch.

male alphas also should, at this time, lose all ovarian function, and their uterus shrinks down to be a small organ, akin to an appendix.

female alphas tend to keep their vagines, but the functionality varies. it's very rare that they connect to a full reproductive system, in that case they would be considered intersex, but it's the most common form. so it's consiered within "normal" presentations of alpha females, because the other hormonal and biological features of an alpha makes carrying pups nearly impossible in most other cases. but, the more typical presentations is that their vaginas are devoid of estrogen and similar hormones (or their equivalents), so it isn't truly functioning. and would bring little pleasure. and their phallus develops into a cock, just like males. though have a smaller on average size is not uncommon. they do tend to have larger knots though.

omegas have an easier time, in terms of the external features. a saving grace, considering everything inside of them is shifting around.

for both males and females, their vaginas develop as per usual. and both remain with clit like anatomy. but males can have more of a t-dick situation.

in terms of bitching/studding

bitched alphas end up with ED, and over time, their cocks and testes can shrink. and the reopening of the vagina is extremely painful, and can even be deadly without medical intervention, because it can take many heat cycles for it to happen. and without any outlet for what's occuring internally, it can lead to infection, internal bleeding, or other complications.

for studded omegas, they will develop testical function, t-dicks, and lose their heats. which can give them menopause like symptoms. on top of being very painful.

how drastic of a change an individual goes through, depends on how strong their presentation had been, and how thorough the bitching/studding was.

Edit:

oh and non-intersex Betas have standard Male/Female anatomy, depending on their primary sex.

[nobodysomega]

I think my main thesis when I write the omegaverse (and why I love it) is I see omegas as an analogue for the mentally ill rather than an analogue for women (though of course that’s an element) Basically, you have to accept that you’re going to lose complete control over your mind periodically. You can manage it with medication but you’re still incredibly reliant on the kindness of others if you lose control, and are so often taken advantage of or make choices you can’t take back.

You’re basically fundamentally seen as a burden, less than, someone who should be controlled or hidden away, because of the lack of control you’re bound to have if not managed and your perceived danger/depravity. You’re even seen as a contribution to why society is so shit. You lose rights and can just be taken away if you’re seen as bad news.

Heats will always be psychological horror to me, as someone who’s gone through psychosis (and witnessed my mum go through psychosis as a kid and always wondered if it would happen to me) the monotonous horror of the heat cycle hits pretty close to home.

[craftyzombieeee]

Sure omegaverse is fun for porn, but have we considered the worldbuilding of it all, especially in stories where the world is seemingly the same?

Are there stereotypes for each gender in in-universe media? Is the jock always an alpha, no matter if they're a woman or a man? is making a jock character who is also an omega subversive, or is it okay if they're a guy? What does being a woman or a man mean in world where reproduction isn't dependent on that? Is astrology still something mainly associated with femininity or is feminity something that doesn't even exist, and everyone takes astrology seriously? What does religion look like in a world of humans with "wolf"-like characteristics? Are moon and wolf deities elevated to being the most important ones, or do the significant deities in our world get these symbolisms attached to them? What does the religious imagery look like? Do saints and kami get their secondary gender debated about, changed, and flanderized through the centuries? Was jesus am omega? Is even asking such a thing considered a heresy? Did they have to debate this back when they first decided what was church doctrine and what was heresy? Is portraying Jesus as an omega a furiously hated choice by right-wing audiences? Did South Park do it and then have him get pegged by Satan, or vice-versa? What does sexism in South Park look like in a world where "sex" is fundamentally different? Is biological sex as complicated in the omegaverse as it is in reality, with estensive research showing that human biology is more complicated than people would like and intersexism far more common that people believe? Are there betas that go into ruts and heats, and omegas that can't get pregnant, and alphas that produce slick? What does being a trans person look like in this universe? Are there hormone treatment drugs? Do people still transition between female and male? Does the distinction between female and male even exist?

Honestly I could go on for hours. If your goal is just getting off on the idea that men can get pregnant, this doesn't really matter, but I've seen people try to get deeper into the universe without really considering that fundamentally changing the way that human reproduction works would change a lot of how the world works.

[jortbort]

in the omegaverse, Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Nasty Dog" is a political piece that claims that male omegas are subpar to female ones. in this essay i will