So, overall, I like the concept of this - on one hand, the beta MC is written as a relatable character to us, the readers, who don't live in an omegaverse and aren't omegas and alphas ourselves and how it could be like for us to exist in an omegaverse society, and on the other hand, we get a more thorough exploration of what it's like to be a beta in a rather foreign world full of pheromones and conflict arising from them. Usually, we don't get much if any perspective of a beta since, logically, we want to see heats, ruts and oozing assholes when we read omegaverse in the first place, so that's what authors cater to. However, this story decided to focus on a normie beta in this world and show realistic struggles that come with being a non pheromone sensing or producing person, surrounded by omegas and alphas. Not just that, through the lense of a critical beta observer, it exercises self awareness about the setting it happens in, like how absurd the omegaverse and pheromone induced relationships, abuse, and dynamics can get; even the tropes with the overbearing alpha who's violent cause of jealousy (don't spread your pheromones!!) or the (in) conveniently forgotten inhibitors during heats at the workplace... For that, I find it fresh and a nice spin on how to write an omegaverse story.
Now, I also understand what the story is trying to accomplish - it shows the growth of an MC who's, understandably to an extent, prejudiced against omegas and alphas, and who, throughout his unpacking of biases (at times, he did get on my nerves with how reductive he was being, it reminded me of real life sexism and gender essentialism) and reflection on his long term friendship with his alpha best friend (Gido, my beloved, you deserve your own story) learns more about himself and the fact that, at the end of the day, they're all humans who also happen to have varying secondary genders. The wall the MC has built around himself slowly got demolished, and he understood that he didn't have to look at alphas and omegas as almost a different species he could never relate to or understand. He even realized this ignorance was one of the reasons why he couldn't be there for his best friend when he needed him after his sexual assault. But he got it, he really did... And then they all hugged and stopped racism and misogyny... I think you get what I'm getting at here. So, the sentiment is cute and all, but reality isn't, and the story fell short on that. It showed us actual examples of what happens in the omegaverse - the abuse (happening before everyone's eyes at the workplace, normalized between an alpha and omega, without anyone trying to intervene), the struggling bodies having to fuck at work cause they go through ruts and heats, how medication doesn't work every time (as the ML mentioned) or how some omega bodies go through a difficult time (the MC in the second couple being a newly presented omega who couldn't control his pheromones). But hey, at the end of the day, they're just like us, so it's fine! All those struggles are still specific to the pheromone producing and sensing ones in a society, but it's all part of the game. They're just like us, the normie (betas)... but then they still face specific issues. The story could've handled two difficult topics at the same time - how identity is more than one's secondary gender and shouldn't be the basis for prejudice, while secondary gender can still create specific issues, systemic oppression or advantage, worthy of being addressed and criticized. There was a semblance of that criticism at the beginning, which made the MC even more sympathetic to me, but it fizzled out quickly. In that regard, the MC was just annoyed enough by it when it concerned him and himself only (he just goes - oh, well, they're annoying af, but they're still people cause there's this hot alpha and for me to get with him, I gotta realize he's not just his secondary gender lolol). He didn't try to advocate for a better work environment by holding accountable what would be within his pheromoney coworkers' control as, betas, too have the right to have a peaceful workplace. For someone who was so pressed by that, he seemed to give up rather quickly. The story let it just happen - it let this type of behavior push the MC to quit, and it treated that as just some small casualty, not like his livelihood was threatened by the workplace omegaverse chaos. His beloved ML also didn't seem bothered by that and didn't use his position to try and critically examine what happens at the workplace and how it could be improved for his beta to stay and not leave... One would think he would make an effort to keep him there and try to make the workplace better, but I'm expecting too much here.
Then there's the pacing of this. At times, the small talk got too much for me, I had to take breaks cause I was bored. Not just that, the story was, at times, focusing too much on the side quests instead of the main quest - the relationship between MC and ML, MC and his best friend, and MC' development. It lacked so many moments between the MC and ML, so much of their development as a couple, of how the MC' gradual shift in his view of omegas and alphas shaped his view of the ML and their relationship, little moments of flirtation or noticing the other person in a new light (the best scene was where they were eating Japanese, that's it). The side, small stuff was dragged on and on, and the major stuff was rushed. So much so that we got BARELY any intimacy and relationship progression, just at the end, and even there, no communication between them about sex and pleasure between alpha and beta, nothing. That was very disappointing. There was so much filler and the relationship just happened in between that filler, and it happened in a blink of an eye. We missed the good parts and the development. It was very lukewarm, and the ML lacked character imo. No exploration of his past, of his struggles (just a tiny glimpse as he was contemplating the fact he was the diligent eldest alpha and how he was doing what's expected of him), just him being cute and horny for our beta MC. The beta MC had much more character as he was explored much more, but that wasn't reflected much in the relationship with the ML as, again, there was almost no shown relationship between them lol.
The friendship arc was the most interesting part tbh. The pain of what could've been and how Gido had much more personality than the ML made it much more exciting to read about. It was touching to see how both realized they had feelings for each other, but way too late. I respect that the story let them have this moment and still remain friends. I'm of the impression that Gido might have some unresolved, lingering feelings left though, and it would've been a good addition to the story to see that explored, be it in side stories or a separate story about him. Maybe a prequel, how Gido and MC were like, from Gido's POV, and then how Gido moves on and finds his person. Angst and some soothing love (but pls not at the very fucking end like in this story lol). That was the most fleshed out, deepest part of this manhwa, ngl.
The side story also showed more complexity and substance than the main love story imo, and deserves a whole separate manhwa. It's got the grittiness, the angst, the identity issues, the toxic gender roles (toxic alphaism, newly presented omega who fights against that and struggles not to succumb to that), it's a recipe for a much more compelling story AND dissection of the omegaverse at the same time. It has more potential, so it's a shame it happened in the side stories. The side stories could've been used to show more of the main love interest instead, cause they are a side story worthy couple lol, there isn't much interesting going on there, but some cute fluff, some romance and hot sex would've been a good continuation of their main story. I do appreciate how the main story shows two people who have more or less deconstructed omegaverse gender roles while the side story shows two people who are amidst the worst the omegaverse has to offer, and that's a nice contrast.
So, overall, I like the concept of this - on one hand, the beta MC is written as a relatable character to us, the readers, who don't live in an omegaverse and aren't omegas and alphas ourselves and how it could be like for us to exist in an omegaverse society, and on the other hand, we get a more thorough exploration of what it's like to be a beta in a rather foreign world full of pheromones and conflict arising from them. Usually, we don't get much if any perspective of a beta since, logically, we want to see heats, ruts and oozing assholes when we read omegaverse in the first place, so that's what authors cater to. However, this story decided to focus on a normie beta in this world and show realistic struggles that come with being a non pheromone sensing or producing person, surrounded by omegas and alphas. Not just that, through the lense of a critical beta observer, it exercises self awareness about the setting it happens in, like how absurd the omegaverse and pheromone induced relationships, abuse, and dynamics can get; even the tropes with the overbearing alpha who's violent cause of jealousy (don't spread your pheromones!!) or the (in) conveniently forgotten inhibitors during heats at the workplace... For that, I find it fresh and a nice spin on how to write an omegaverse story.
Now, I also understand what the story is trying to accomplish - it shows the growth of an MC who's, understandably to an extent, prejudiced against omegas and alphas, and who, throughout his unpacking of biases (at times, he did get on my nerves with how reductive he was being, it reminded me of real life sexism and gender essentialism) and reflection on his long term friendship with his alpha best friend (Gido, my beloved, you deserve your own story) learns more about himself and the fact that, at the end of the day, they're all humans who also happen to have varying secondary genders. The wall the MC has built around himself slowly got demolished, and he understood that he didn't have to look at alphas and omegas as almost a different species he could never relate to or understand. He even realized this ignorance was one of the reasons why he couldn't be there for his best friend when he needed him after his sexual assault. But he got it, he really did... And then they all hugged and stopped racism and misogyny... I think you get what I'm getting at here. So, the sentiment is cute and all, but reality isn't, and the story fell short on that. It showed us actual examples of what happens in the omegaverse - the abuse (happening before everyone's eyes at the workplace, normalized between an alpha and omega, without anyone trying to intervene), the struggling bodies having to fuck at work cause they go through ruts and heats, how medication doesn't work every time (as the ML mentioned) or how some omega bodies go through a difficult time (the MC in the second couple being a newly presented omega who couldn't control his pheromones). But hey, at the end of the day, they're just like us, so it's fine! All those struggles are still specific to the pheromone producing and sensing ones in a society, but it's all part of the game. They're just like us, the normie (betas)... but then they still face specific issues. The story could've handled two difficult topics at the same time - how identity is more than one's secondary gender and shouldn't be the basis for prejudice, while secondary gender can still create specific issues, systemic oppression or advantage, worthy of being addressed and criticized. There was a semblance of that criticism at the beginning, which made the MC even more sympathetic to me, but it fizzled out quickly. In that regard, the MC was just annoyed enough by it when it concerned him and himself only (he just goes - oh, well, they're annoying af, but they're still people cause there's this hot alpha and for me to get with him, I gotta realize he's not just his secondary gender lolol). He didn't try to advocate for a better work environment by holding accountable what would be within his pheromoney coworkers' control as, betas, too have the right to have a peaceful workplace. For someone who was so pressed by that, he seemed to give up rather quickly. The story let it just happen - it let this type of behavior push the MC to quit, and it treated that as just some small casualty, not like his livelihood was threatened by the workplace omegaverse chaos. His beloved ML also didn't seem bothered by that and didn't use his position to try and critically examine what happens at the workplace and how it could be improved for his beta to stay and not leave... One would think he would make an effort to keep him there and try to make the workplace better, but I'm expecting too much here.
Then there's the pacing of this. At times, the small talk got too much for me, I had to take breaks cause I was bored. Not just that, the story was, at times, focusing too much on the side quests instead of the main quest - the relationship between MC and ML, MC and his best friend, and MC' development. It lacked so many moments between the MC and ML, so much of their development as a couple, of how the MC' gradual shift in his view of omegas and alphas shaped his view of the ML and their relationship, little moments of flirtation or noticing the other person in a new light (the best scene was where they were eating Japanese, that's it). The side, small stuff was dragged on and on, and the major stuff was rushed. So much so that we got BARELY any intimacy and relationship progression, just at the end, and even there, no communication between them about sex and pleasure between alpha and beta, nothing. That was very disappointing. There was so much filler and the relationship just happened in between that filler, and it happened in a blink of an eye. We missed the good parts and the development. It was very lukewarm, and the ML lacked character imo. No exploration of his past, of his struggles (just a tiny glimpse as he was contemplating the fact he was the diligent eldest alpha and how he was doing what's expected of him), just him being cute and horny for our beta MC. The beta MC had much more character as he was explored much more, but that wasn't reflected much in the relationship with the ML as, again, there was almost no shown relationship between them lol.
The friendship arc was the most interesting part tbh. The pain of what could've been and how Gido had much more personality than the ML made it much more exciting to read about. It was touching to see how both realized they had feelings for each other, but way too late. I respect that the story let them have this moment and still remain friends. I'm of the impression that Gido might have some unresolved, lingering feelings left though, and it would've been a good addition to the story to see that explored, be it in side stories or a separate story about him. Maybe a prequel, how Gido and MC were like, from Gido's POV, and then how Gido moves on and finds his person. Angst and some soothing love (but pls not at the very fucking end like in this story lol). That was the most fleshed out, deepest part of this manhwa, ngl.
The side story also showed more complexity and substance than the main love story imo, and deserves a whole separate manhwa. It's got the grittiness, the angst, the identity issues, the toxic gender roles (toxic alphaism, newly presented omega who fights against that and struggles not to succumb to that), it's a recipe for a much more compelling story AND dissection of the omegaverse at the same time. It has more potential, so it's a shame it happened in the side stories. The side stories could've been used to show more of the main love interest instead, cause they are a side story worthy couple lol, there isn't much interesting going on there, but some cute fluff, some romance and hot sex would've been a good continuation of their main story. I do appreciate how the main story shows two people who have more or less deconstructed omegaverse gender roles while the side story shows two people who are amidst the worst the omegaverse has to offer, and that's a nice contrast.