In all honesty, I do not care for omegaverse stories. I do not knock on those who do, but something about many of the key aspects of them (or at least how I perceived them) turns me off. With that said, the key conflict posed in this story is too fucking juicy to withhold from this one, and I'll probably follow it for a while.
With the above said, if anyone may, I need a bit of an explainer on the omegaverse. I was under the impression that the setting was, like, meant to include futa as a default. That was what I gathered the alpha/beta distinctions were for before. Is the omega distinction a new thing? Is there a general purpose to the distinction, or rather is it like a trope that associates with it traits that I am to expect from a character described as an alpha/beta/ometa/etc? I'm assuming each story has nuances, but what is marking on a general level?
This is my understanding thus far:
Marking means biting at the scent gland behind the neck and a deposition of the biter’s hormones into this through their teeth. It constitutes a change in the perception of both partners where (usually) the omega becomes permanently* owned and submissive to the alpha, and the alpha permanently* is bound to the omega. Since ABO is patterned from traditional gender norms you could think of it as a sort of marriage or engagement between the protector and the nurturer. In the more equal and nuanced systems make the marking mutual, when the Omega marks the Alpha it means that the omega chooses to submit or chooses the alpha as their protector, which sort of adds a two way channel of trust and submission where the Alpha also has a requirement of keeping the omega happy/making them choose them v just having the omega around and just protecting them with or without their consent.
Marking can still happen between omegas and between alphas depending on the writer/universe. Between omegas it is usually seen as a defiance of society since they’re both seen as “lesser” and yet they choose to protect one another, and usually hold a very strong emotional undercurrent. Two alphas I see are usually seen as a subversion of strength and rivalry (and typically more masculine traits[I am biased I learned this trope from a gay friend into bl]), where one that is seen as “strong” wants to enter a relationship with someone who sees them as their rival, thus their relationship may feel a bit strained at times or they might have trouble finding a relationship in the first place (think of the Alpha x Alpha-Claudine x Maya ABO stories or Sal Jiang’s Black and White)
I do not think betas mark each other. They can mark or be marked and their partner may feel any of the above, but usually they are not able to feel so or to the same extent because they do not have the scent gland nor the thing with their teeth. So they would just be getting bit and biting like regular humans.
