What is Omegaverse / ABO? A Quick Guide for New Viewers of ABO Desire.

If you're new to the term ABO or Omegaverse, I've made this simple breakdown to help you understand or enjoy the worldbuilding of ABO DESIRE more smoothly!
This sub-genre is often used in speculative fiction (especially in BL), and while it may seem wild at first, it follows its own internal logic and rules.

**this is all in a fictional world**
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 🔹Basic Terms in the Omegaverse

In the ABO world, people are divided into secondary genders which affect biology, behavior, and societal roles. These categories can appear in any sex:

Alpha (α)🐺
Usually dominant, strong, high-status individuals. Often driven by instinct during “ruts.” May or may not be fertile depending on the author’s world.

Beta (β)
Considered neutral and closest to regular humans. Usually don’t experience heats/ruts. Often infertile, but sometimes fertile (depends on the setting).

Omega (Ω)😺
Usually the most vulnerable and most likely to go into heat. Can get pregnant (even male omegas). Emit strong pheromones during heat that attract Alphas.

Enigma (E)  (Rare unique)
A secret or rare type that doesn’t fit into the usual hierarchy but is on top of everyone. In this story, the Enigma is deeply tied to the mystery of the plot.

🔹 Key Concepts to Know

Heats (Ω):
A biological cycle omegas go through where they become extremely fertile and emit intense pheromones. It usually causes physical discomfort and emotional vulnerability unless "relieved." -Inspired from animals fr-

Ruts (α):
The Alpha equivalent of heat. A period of heightened aggression, sexual need, and focus on finding a mate may be triggered by an omega's pheromones.

Pheromones:
Scent chemicals that play a big role in attraction and dominance in the ABO world. These are unique to individuals and secondary gender types.

Suppressants:💉💊
Pills or injections used to delay or stop heats or ruts. Often used by Omegas to live more “normal” lives or hide their identity in public.

Mating Bonds:
In many ABO universes, physical or emotional intimacy can form strong bonds between individuals, sometimes even "marking" is involved (through biting or scent).
Note that a "bite" marking is known to be a permanent mark❗ once one gets a bite mark that means they could no longer form a bond with anyone in their life and their pheromones are only noticed by their bonded partner making them not able to be in an intimate relationship with anyone else. Of course some authors have their own little differences on this concept.


🔹 Fertility in the ABO Universe

In most Omegaverse stories, everyone (including males) can get pregnant.

Some authors tweak this:
→ Alphas might not be able to get pregnant at all
→ Betas are sometimes infertile or used for balance
→ Rare gender types (like Enigma) may have unique traits or abilities or they don't exist entirely

In ABO DESIRE, worldbuilding introduces the Enigma, who’s hiding their identity and this mystery is central to the story.
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Some things in the Omegaverse varies from one author to another. Some go heavy on the dynamics and world politics, others focus on emotional/romantic drama.
If this is your first time diving into Omegaverse, just keep an open mind, and know it’s part of an imaginative alternate universe not a reflection of real-life biology or gender.

Feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions below!🗯️✨

You're welcome glad to help! Enjoy💖

Yes in most Omegaverse settings, female Alphas can because they’re written with male anatomy (aka like a Futanari). However, this varies depending on the story in some, they’re simply portrayed as dominant or powerful individuals in society without reproductive capability.

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

I'm just wondering. Are there any authors or novels within the genre which have a heavy emphasis or even an exclusive focus on the world-setting/ political side of things? I don't mind if this is at the expense of romance, even. Desire caught my attention for its unique setting and world-building, and I love the author's creativity here. The ABO virus and the business subplot really caught my attention in the first episode, what can I say?

I think I read somewhere in the comments that the author wrote the story as she couldn't find many stories with intricate world-building (it's been a few days, so the comment is long buried now lol). Just curious if there are any like that since she wrote the novel (if not, I'd be somewhat tempted to try my hand at writing one like that myself).

I'd like to add something about the origin of the concept. 

In the 1940s, there were studies done on wolves that seemed to indicate that they formed very strong hierarchies within the pack, with stronger wolves aggressively vying for dominance (these were labelled "alphas") and weaker wolves falling in line and following the leaders (these were called "betas"). Then there were the weakest wolves, bullied and harassed by everyone, and sometimes even ousted from the pack (called "omegas"). 

This Alpha-Beta-Omega theory of wolf packs was popularised in the 1970s by a wildlife biologist called L. David Mech in a book called "The Wolf".  In the 1980s, Mech started studying natural wolf packs in the wild, and surprisingly he found no evidence for the A-B-O theory.  There turned out to be a problem with the original study from the 1940s: It was done on captive wolves in a zoo, forced together with no natural relationship ties to each other. In short, it can be compared to studying power dynamics in a prison.

L. David Mech found through years of study that non-captive wolves in the wild form packs based on the family structure of one breeding pair and their offspring (basically the mum and dad and their kids). Only the mum and dad are "allowed" to breed in the pack, which makes sense since they are all related. Most of the time, the kids hang out in the pack even when grown, to help with hunting and guarding young pups, etc., but when they get old enough, they leave their birth pack to find an unrelated mate and form a new pack of their own. After discovering this, Mech spent years debunking the A-B-O wolf pack theory and trying to get his old book "The Wolf" taken out of print, which finally succeeded in the early 2000s. Some people still refer to the pack leaders as the "alpha pair", but most wildlife researchers now refer to them as the "breeding pair", since it makes no more sense to call them "alphas" than it does to call your mum and dad "alphas". 

BUT. Even if the A-B-O theory wasn't true for wolves, it does seem to be the case for some other pack animals, notably primates like chimpanzees, who are our closest relatives as a species. Maybe this is why the idea caught on so strongly, and a lot of people still believe in it, despite the evidence disproving it when it comes to wolves. People were very intrigued by it, and eventually it became a thing in werewolf fiction and fanfiction. They took the idea of the alpha-beta-omega structure and ran with it, making up more details and intricate dynamics in various fantastical ways to serve the purpose of their stories. And that's the origin of the ABO or Omegaverse in fiction. Because it's not a genre that was invented by one specific author in one specific trendsetting book, there are lots of different takes on the trope, and each author can tweak the worldbuilding to suit their own taste and purposes. So basically, while all ABO stories are based on the same concept, for each story that you read you will have to figure out the settings for that particular story. 

 pjsart:

Your interest in different Asian movies is similar to mine.  I appreciate your list of Vietnamese and Cambodian bls.  Where can you watch them?

You might enjoy this:

https://youtu.be/4GuR_g75ufY?si=67eBM3ckR-ObaKel

If you mean me, I've turned the titles of the ones I know where to watch into live links. 

Thank you for the link to the short film/MV, it was very beautiful! 

 ColourMePurple:

So these are non-humans characters?

That differs from omegaverse story to omegaverse story. Some of them are about wolf shifters (or other were-animals), but many are about humans that for some reason or other have evolved into having the secondary ABO genders, with no other animal characteristics beyond that. It's a fantasy setting, or like in this case, a sci-fi setting. 

 LotusRayne:

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

I'm just wondering. Are there any authors or novels within the genre which have a heavy emphasis or even an exclusive focus on the world-setting/ political side of things? I don't mind if this is at the expense of romance, even. Desire caught my attention for its unique setting and world-building, and I love the author's creativity here. The ABO virus and the business subplot really caught my attention in the first episode, what can I say?

I think I read somewhere in the comments that the author wrote the story as she couldn't find many stories with intricate world-building (it's been a few days, so the comment is long buried now lol). Just curious if there are any like that since she wrote the novel (if not, I'd be somewhat tempted to try my hand at writing one like that myself).

Hey, you're welcome! Yes there is some novels that focuses on the word building which is something I also insanely care about, here's a list of ABO Danmei novels with good political/setting focus.

 hope they're what you looking for, also let us know if you published one I'm curious to read👀!

Old Injury (Similar to ABO Desire)

 – blood‑type gender system (A, B, O), virus immunity dynamics

Link

Turning (by a Korean author) 

Link

The Fallen Merman

 – hybrid superpowered experimental subject worldbuilding
Link

Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O? 

– dark omega society and revolution
Link

After the Tyrant Differentiated into an Omega

 – deep historical lore; biology of omegas and MC’s transformation explored in depth
Link

The Only Rose Omega in The Universe

 – world of animal forms, alpha‑omega needs, deep plot-driven worldbuilding
Link

Marked by a Tyrant After Transmigrating
Link

I Got Marked By My Shadow Guard After Pretending To Be An Alpha 

Link