FAQ
Because I know this fic and its world building is really REALLY WEIRD… So here’s some meta I’ve been scribbling here and there and bouncing around as I worked through the fic’s outline and then filling in the greater details.
Who is/has what? (i.e. the dynamics of this a/b/o)
I’ll break down the nitty gritty of how this all works on a more general scale in a bit but let me just share my cheat sheet I scratched up to keep straight who had what and who was dating who and what precisely that explored. I originally didn’t plan for an even split with the assignments of a/b/o alignments but it accidentally happened and I figured it was for the best (since that reflects the even split of alignments in the greater society). So here we go:
Minseok: alpha; with penis and external testes, and shallow not at all functioning vulva.
Lu Han: alpha; with penis and external testes, no vulva. Fully on the ‘masculine genitalia’ side of the spectrum. (<< we will fully get into that terminology later.)
Yifan: omega; Has ‘small penis’ (actually a clitoral phallus, which we will get into later!) that can discharge, and a deep and fully functioning vulva. Also has small, external testes at the base of this ‘clitoral phallus’.
Junmyeon: alpha; with penis, external testes, and vulva. Vulva doesn’t arouse without direct contact, though through direct contact can yonic knot (ha ha we’ll also…get into that…later).
Yixing: alpha; no penis or testes, has fully functional vulva and is fully on the ‘feminine genitalia’ side of the spectrum.
Baekhyun: beta; no penis or testes, has fully functional vulva and a clit phallus (I really promise I will get into that!) that doesn’t discharge.
Jongdae: beta; deep and functioning vulva, also has a clit phallus that can discharge and external testes. ………………………(Liyin: alpha; fully functioning penis+internal testes no vulva and this is important because they’re dating)
Chanyeol: beta; fully functioning penis and external testes, no vulva and is fully on the ‘masculine genitalia’ side of the spectrum.
Kyungsoo: omega; fully functioning penis, external testes, shallow not at all functioning really barely there vulva. Almost fully on the 'masculine genitalia' side of the spectrum.
Tao: omega; fully functioning vulva with a small clit, no testes, fully on the 'feminine genitalia' side of the spectrum.
Jongin: beta; with fully functioning penis, external testes, shallow vulva that slicks and not much else.
Sehun: omega; fully functioning vulva, a clit phallus that doesn’t discharge, and internal testes.
(By the way I am aware that internal testes in human beings means they are infertile because humans’ internal temperature kills sperm)
Wtf is with everyone’s genitalia?
I used a sort of spectrum belief, which basically means that in the entire world that this fic takes place in all humans fall somewhere on a spectrum from masculine to feminine genitalia. Genitalia doesn’t affect gender identification, hence how all of the exo members are still male.
What I mean when I say ‘falling on a spectrum’ is that on one end you’ve got people who only have penises and external testes, in the most traditional sense of ‘masculine genitalia’ as we know it, and then on the other end you’ve got people who only have vaginas, vulvas, uteri, ovaries, all that in the most traditional sense of ‘feminine genitalia’. And then you have literally everyone in between with mixed hormones and, usually, mixed genitalia.
Since it’s a spectrum, most people fall on either side of the ‘middle’ perfect balance of having both feminine and masculine genitalia. This could be as subtle as someone having a penis and internal testicles or someone having a vulva and noticeably large clit, to more blatantly mixed results like a penis having individual also having a vulva of varying depth -- it's all just depending on where in the spectrum they fall. Functionality depends on individual cases and how reproductively capable they are ALSO depends.
Some people can both impregnate and carry, but most can only do one. And there are plenty of people who can’t reproduce because of hormone imbalances (just like in real life) as well as people who end up in relationships that are reproductively incompatible. And then you have some people who DO fall smack dab in the middle of the spectrum as seen with Yifan and Jongdae (Junmyeon and Jongin don’t quite count because they’re a little more masculine spectrum leaning, as seen with how they have penises - as opposed to phalluses - and how both their vulvas function but only through deliberate contact) in this story. Being in the middle of the spectrum usually means you have all genitalia and usually also means you can wet orgasm from all said genitalia. This definitely leads to some need for suspension of belief but these characters also go into heat so…I’m assuming you all will…go with me on this.
Wait, what’s the difference between a penis and a phallus?
That’s more personal preference of referencing to your junk but generally people who are distinctly masculine spectrum with only penises and testes refer to their penis as a penis. Everyone else less definitive with overlaps of vulvas and external/internal testicles and uteri and ovaries and clitorises tend to refer to their penises or (phallus-like) clits as a ‘clit phallus’/'phallus clit' or ‘phallus’ for short. Some don’t though! There are plenty of people with ‘less definitive’ phalluses or who are even born with ‘distinctly feminine spectrum’ genitalia who may use penis and other masculine terminology to refer to their genitalia, if that’s how they identify themselves. Same goes for those definitive penis havers: some of them may use less definitively masculine terminology for their genitalia if that’s what they like.
Technically though, a phallus clit/clit phallus is any clit that MAY, but does not necessarily, discharge/ejaculate. So technically (again, not taking into account that people with any genitalia may id regardless of what their genitalia typically is categorized as) clits never can discharge and aren’t phalluses, while phalluses SOMETIMES can discharge.
Urgh is this confusing? I’ll break it down again:
+Some phalluses are capable of discharging but some aren’t. Phalluses also typically more closely imitate a penis shape (with a head and shaft,) so is usually less ‘squat’ than a large clitoris may be. Phalluses, like any genitalia, vary in width and length. Yifan for example, has a pretty skinny phallus that is maybe the same width around as like two fingers.
+People with clit phalluses often also have testes (internally or externally) but not always.
+Sometimes people with fully functional and typical penises, or penis+vulva combos, will call their penis a penis, sometimes a phallus. Sometimes even a clit, if that’s their id.
+Phalluses CAN be something like a fully functional penis. They can ALSO be more akin to a large clit that discharges. Some phalluses can’t discharge, but are differentiated from a ‘typical clit’ by the shape. As you can see, this is a really loose way of differentiating something, and it’s why what sets lots of clits and phalluses apart is really lax. Example: Baekhyun considers his clit phallus just that, despite the fact that his phallus can’t discharge since he doesn’t have testes. Yifan on the other hand will shift between calling his phallus a (clit) phallus and sometimes just a clit, because to him it’s all basically the same.
+More typical clits CAN come in sizes as large as a micro penis, but typically can’t discharge. But see above about why that’s lax for some people when it comes to defining what they have.
+The main takeaway here is that at the end of the day the technical terms go out the window when it comes to what people refer to themselves and what they have.
So yeah, mostly this universe functions on ‘this is the general trend that doctors in the field use for classifying, and then there’s just exceptions all over the place in layman’s terms because people refer to genitalia based on personal gender id-ing and that’s cool with everyone’.
Knotting?
I originally wasn’t even going to include knotting because it was an extra layer of logistics to have to stare at, but the second I dismissed it I then became ridiculously determined to look at every aspect of a/b/o that you commonly see. Uh so it’s pretty typical of most knotting used with this trope. Penises and vulvas alike knot for alphas only. A phallus knot is exactly what you think it is: the knot swells after ejaculation to lock a pair together. I mention it a lot all over the pwp sections, but with the teenagers being hormonal and their bodies being in a developmental stage, sometimes the order of ejaculation and knotting or how much or how quickly alphas ejaculate and how long the knot lasts varies because their bodies are just kind of in a freaking free-for-all right now when it comes to the rules.
As for vulva-having alphas knotting we call that ‘yonic knotting’ because why the hell not, right? Anyway the principle is pretty much the same: the vulva swells to lock the phallus inside and sort of erm, milk the come out (you have no idea how much I’m laughing at myself as I type this oh my god). Knotting is painful for both parties because why would it not be? The pain can range from vaguely uncomfortable to really really painful without the proper prepwork.
As I said, only alphas knot. They knot after masturbating too, but it’s usually a much shorter and less painful knot than it would be with a partner. And yeah, knots can be painful because the genitalia is swelling. Heat knots are much worse and much much larger and last much longer. I keep thinking really hard and long about knotting in anal sex too, because in this verse you knot every time you have sexual stimulation to the point of climaxing. I think my final conclusion is that having anal heat sex is SUPER SUPER ill advised, or at least takes a super intense amount of prep for the receiving party (i.e. think of the type of prepwork for double penetration or fisting, as well as probably the necessity of measuring the alpha’s knot size beforehand to insure no one’s seriously injured by the ordeal). However normal knotting is fine with a more typical amount of anal prep with lube and stretching. Some people like anal sex and others don’t because it always hurts or is uncomfortable for them or they don’t like the sensation or the prep is tiring, etc./whatever. Also there’s always plenty of ways to do anal stimulation with toys to avoid dealing with knotting if that's more what you want to deal with.
More details on heat?
For alphas and omegas they have a heat once a month. Heats are pretty much the same across the board, right? Releasing pheromones like crazy, being sweaty and hot and horny, involuntary orgasms, the whole deal.
Betas also go in heat because I just feel like if a good portion of the population is going to suffer, everyone needs to suffer through raging hormones. Also just how I’ve shaped this world with the spectrum means there’s very little biological difference between everyone so there isn’t much reason why betas should be exempt completely from heat. Anyway, betas only go in heat every 3 or 4 months, just by virtue of that's what makes them betas. I guess in a way you could say alphas are biologically defined by their knotting, omegas by their monthly heats, and betas by their less frequent heats. I'm a little hesitant to say that, I guess, since it sort of undermines the whole 'individualized identity' thing I'm going for here. But it's a pretty apt description, so I'll throw it out there.
Anyway, teenagers’ heats and young to middle aged adults’ heats are different because ~*puberty*~. When you’re young, there’s usually a lot of pre-heat pheromone/hormone releasing and so people easily can kind of scent out who’s what a/b/o-wise. Then, heats last basically a full day: the first part is the ‘build up’ where your body works its way into sexually frustrated, then the renowned part with the craving sex and involuntarily orgasming. If youngsters have sex or stimulate themselves during this part, it usually draws out this stage because you’re body hates you hahaha. No really because at this age, stimulation tells your body that you’re ~procreating~ and you have the capability and energy to keep going to ensure said procreation. Eventually you’ll move into the cool down stage where your body works its way out of the last of the sexual energy.
Adults have the same build up-peak-let down process, but it’s usually not all day (maybe more half a day?) and if they stimulate or have sex the heat will usually end afterwards because your body recognizes that you’ve ~*procreated*~ or whatever. Also there’re pills and hormones to suppress heats, but because of the nature of the medicine and hormones it’s really not recommended to start suppressants until 18-20. More careful doctors will recommend later (20), but some doctors believe 18 can be a possible age depending on the individual case. Honestly, in the field there are some doctors who are little reckless about prescribing hormones and suppressants and addressing heat-puberty issues because a lot of issues have to be heavily considered on an individual basis and sometimes it leads to some physicians ignoring any and all precedence when they shouldn’t.
Wait so do people not have periods?
Well, no they do. Since there isn’t really ‘mpreg’ in the traditional sense of a/b/o verse…it would make sense that people menstruate. But not all people who menstruate are fertile and not all people with vulvas menstruate depending on their hormones and if their vulva is actually functioning + if they have all the right internal plumbing (like for instance I know Jongin doesn’t have all the internal reproductive organs necessary to menstruate). I didn’t sit down and deliberate who menstruates and who doesn’t, though? (It'd probably be easy to figure out though.) I also don’t detail menstruation in-depth in story at any point, so don’t worry about that coming out of left field all of a sudden or anything.
But yeah, basically how it works is a few days to a week after your heat if you’re not pregnant you go into menstruation -- in what obviously has to be the funnest time in the month ever for all those menstruating people. Also betas menstruate every month despite not going into heat every month, because they still are ovulating and capable of getting pregnant even off heat. Technically alphas and omegas are also able to get pregnant from sex had while not in heat (and a missed heat is a huge sign of pregnancy that's way more reliable than a missed period once you're older and your heat has stabilized) but it's just that heat sex is basically optimal conditions and a prime time for getting pregnant for everybody. And since alphas and omegas have monthly heats it's just more likely that they'll get pregnant from heat sex than betas.
Breasts?
Okay so it depends, some people develop breasts and some people don’t and it depends on hormones and the individual. Some people with breasts bind, some only have small breasts and are generally fine with strapping down with a sports bra, and some people have breasts and are fine with more general support and not binding in any way. There’s also laxer recommendations and laws concerning hormones and surgery for breasts at young ages than there are for stuff pertaining to heats. Genital restructuring is a little stricter than breasts stuff, but also laxer than medication and hormones for messing with heats as well. You also have people who pack (jock straps/underwear, bras, etc. depending on what they present as and what they have) or have breast forms (Liyin, for example, has breast forms). In the group here’s who has what:
Minseok: breasts; binds whenever he’s going to be out and about, but if they’re at someone’s house chilling or he’s in for the night, he unbinds and goes free-for-all cuz whatever, y’know?
Lu Han: no breasts.
Yifan: teeny tiny breasts, like barely has them? Doesn't need to wear bras for his little mosquito bites because he's so incredibly nearly flat chested, so he doesn't. Only time his boobs are noticeable is when Yifan's wearing a really tight shirt -- and if he does wear a tight shirt then for decency he throws on one of his like two training sports bras, which obviously he also wears for basketball. Otherwise if he's wearing a loose shirt or not doing a sport, then he just leaves them alone to be lost in the folds of his shirt. Also they're also not really sensitive or anything, which is why there isn't any nipple action in any of the pwp scenes.
Junmyeon: no breasts. This is never mentioned in story a single time because it starts happening in college, but Junmyeon ends up with some really nice breast forms he wears every now and again with some practical (but super high quality) bras.
Yixing: breasts; binds some days and only wears support bras on others at a pretty even fifty-fifty split, just depending on his body image that day. Half of those days he binds he also packs.
Baekhyun: breasts; never binds. But also this asshole does not own a single solitary bra because he likes to embarrass everyone around him/is only sometimes a pasties type of dude when he foresees the potential pointy nipples issue popping up from cold air conditioning. Even then, sheer laziness/audacity/not giving a shit sometimes may still take precedence and mean he'll go commando anyway. Sometimes when they’re going somewhere nice, Kyungsoo snatches him up and straps Baekhyun’s boobs down for him and is just like “what the hell are you going to do without me after we graduate?” and Baekhyun’s just like “be wild and free at formal events and make awesome rebel statements with my amazingly beautiful tits.”
Jongdae: breasts; pretty small already, so uses sports bras for support+a little strapping down action and calls it a day.
Chanyeol: no breasts.
Kyungsoo: breasts; binds 100% of the time. Jongin had to get on him about even binding in his sleep, so he finally stopped doing it.
Tao: breasts. Wears frilly, beautiful, lingerie bras whenever he’s not wearing sports bras for exercise and martial arts. Because Tao has ~expensive tastes~.
Jongin: no breasts.
Sehun: breasts; has really cutesy bras with like strawberries and pastel patterns and little bows on them, because he used to only have black sports bras and then Tao infiltrated his wardrobe and threw basically all but three of them out. Sehun binds maybe ......15% of the time? It depends on the fashion he’s rocking, but sometimes on some days he just decides he doesn’t want the contours of his breasts to disrupt the fitted silhouette of his jacket (or something like that) and binds.
How are people determined alpha, omega or beta? Does it determine who they can be with?
You’re just born as whatever you’re born as. It’s up to chance and not really genetics or anything -- like what your parents are won't determine what you are. And anyone can be with anyone else (which you see plenty of in this story)…think of it like zodiac signs maybe? In the sense that what your alignment is does/can influence slightly what your disposition is or how much of an aggressor you might be, but for the most part it’s up to your personality and individual choices. There are plenty of omegas who can be aggressive as hell when they want to be, but are sometimes with certain people and in certain situations a little more inclined to let others take the lead…but they still have a domineering personality. Like I just described how Kyungsoo is in the story without meaning to, oops.
As for pack dynamics...honestly people really only sometimes adhere to the power dynamics that are supposedly determined by their alignments, and even then usually only in family and friend groups. Back in the day it was probably more common in society as a whole, but nowadays people only really fall back on alignment stereotypes as jokes or casually discriminatory microagressions that you're likely to see in politics or high schools etc. Alignment stereotypes are also pretty common as kinks too I guess, haha. But yeah, even in the 'packs' of families and friends, power dynamics don't play out as the alpha(s) just control and order around everyone else, they're just a little more likely to take control of a situation or make suggestions (like what to order for takeout dinner etc.) and betas are more likely to just go along with the flow while omegas might be more likely to try and appease everyone. And this is all very generalized and without taking into account the personalities at play and relationships that might shape how everyone interacts.
Also what your alignment is as well as the act of having heats doesn’t define your sexuality and gender - that’s pretty much determined by the individual. People can be aromantic and/or asexual despite having heats. Later on in life some aro and/or ace people prefer to go on the medication/hormones that suppress heats, and others don’t. Everything is super individual based in this world.
You’re fetishizing intersex and/or transgender and/or genderqueer people.
I hope it doesn’t seem like that, since I honestly just wanted to see people like myself normalized in a fic. I mean, on one hand you can’t really fetishize yourself but on another hand I’m also not the representative of every intersex/trans/genderqueer person in the world (even in that list of three my experiences don’t encapsulate every one of those identities).
Alright, me being less idk snarky(?) about this, the real question at hand here is more ‘this seems very similar to real life intersex, trans, and genderqueer people in certain ways, why?’. And you’re right. As previously explained, this verse (a way for me to play around with rl junk that bothers me) is set in a world where gender binary isn’t that strict and most of the population falls on a spectrum of genitalia, and how that impacts the society etc. It’s also just one of the few ways I could think to get a/b/o to work? This fic was also originally started as a challenge from a friend who knew that for many many years in fandom (since like…2009 lol) I used to hate a/b/o with a passion. Lately I had been mostly chill about it, and so I was meant to try and confront why I used to feel so strongly about this trope and then tinker around with those bits that used to bother me.
Basically the challenge was: why didn't you like a/b/o? If you were forced to write one, how would you write it so past!you wouldn't hate it? So I took up the challenge and this is what I came up with -- though originally it was supposed to only be a 'concept sketch' or an outline for a a/b/o verse. And now…I mean I’m writing an FAQ for a thirty nine part a/b/o series, so let’s let that speak for itself.
The smut is weird!
YEAH I KNOW. I tried to keep it as separated from the plot as possible so people don’t have to read it if they don’t want to…There’s only 6 explicit scenes and skipping them only really means skipping some emotional building junk, the occasional little characterization, and usually some world-building clarification on the nature of heats and hormones, but nothing too major, so if you want to skip them you can. Of course, there’s some in-story sex mentions or straight up teens discussing their junk because it’s high school, but if that makes you uncomfortable…you might just wanna give this story a miss. I just…this story wasn’t originally meant to be shared but then it got so large that I kind of wanted to? But the origins are so weird and I don’t know what to do about it.
What’s with the weird and overabundant titling in this piece?
Uhhhh great question I…the original title for the entire piece was ridiculous and pretentious because I was really mad at myself for getting WAY too invested rather quickly in this verse I was building (back when this was still maybe three? sex scenes only, and at that point that was three times as many as I had already planned). The initial plan was SUPPOSED to be I use exo members as character placeholders while I worked out universe mechanics just so there were names and faces to the concepts I was fleshing out. There was never supposed to be anything greater and larger and more detailed than a shaky outline. When that started going out the window (before it really REALLY got out of hand) I was pissed at myself and the pretentious name on the word document was my way of venting as well as discouraging myself from working on it too long before going "this is pretentious and I hate it, I hate myself, I'm so angry that I've allowed this to happen" and closing the document in disgust. Unfortunately it didn’t work all that well, clearly, and now I’m just attached to this asshole name for the entire verse. As for the titling patterns of each chapter I just…I figured if I was going to pour this much effort into something because I’m begrudgingly attached to it, I might as well enjoy myself and play around with creativity and stuff…so the chapter titling is literally just I wanted to practice naming things and also it was kind of fun to sit for an hour and think up names and naming patterns and stick to them.
There really isn’t a good reason for a good deal of things about this story.
Did you really build a 39 chapter story around 6 sex scenes?????
Yes. I don’t wanna talk about it.
((jk jk, feel free to ask more questions in the comments, and I’ll answer and/or add them to the main post!))
Who is/has what? (i.e. the dynamics of this a/b/o)
I’ll break down the nitty gritty of how this all works on a more general scale in a bit but let me just share my cheat sheet I scratched up to keep straight who had what and who was dating who and what precisely that explored. I originally didn’t plan for an even split with the assignments of a/b/o alignments but it accidentally happened and I figured it was for the best (since that reflects the even split of alignments in the greater society). So here we go:
Minseok: alpha; with penis and external testes, and shallow not at all functioning vulva.
Lu Han: alpha; with penis and external testes, no vulva. Fully on the ‘masculine genitalia’ side of the spectrum. (<< we will fully get into that terminology later.)
Yifan: omega; Has ‘small penis’ (actually a clitoral phallus, which we will get into later!) that can discharge, and a deep and fully functioning vulva. Also has small, external testes at the base of this ‘clitoral phallus’.
Junmyeon: alpha; with penis, external testes, and vulva. Vulva doesn’t arouse without direct contact, though through direct contact can yonic knot (ha ha we’ll also…get into that…later).
Yixing: alpha; no penis or testes, has fully functional vulva and is fully on the ‘feminine genitalia’ side of the spectrum.
Baekhyun: beta; no penis or testes, has fully functional vulva and a clit phallus (I really promise I will get into that!) that doesn’t discharge.
Jongdae: beta; deep and functioning vulva, also has a clit phallus that can discharge and external testes. ………………………(Liyin: alpha; fully functioning penis+internal testes no vulva and this is important because they’re dating)
Chanyeol: beta; fully functioning penis and external testes, no vulva and is fully on the ‘masculine genitalia’ side of the spectrum.
Kyungsoo: omega; fully functioning penis, external testes, shallow not at all functioning really barely there vulva. Almost fully on the 'masculine genitalia' side of the spectrum.
Tao: omega; fully functioning vulva with a small clit, no testes, fully on the 'feminine genitalia' side of the spectrum.
Jongin: beta; with fully functioning penis, external testes, shallow vulva that slicks and not much else.
Sehun: omega; fully functioning vulva, a clit phallus that doesn’t discharge, and internal testes.
(By the way I am aware that internal testes in human beings means they are infertile because humans’ internal temperature kills sperm)
Wtf is with everyone’s genitalia?
I used a sort of spectrum belief, which basically means that in the entire world that this fic takes place in all humans fall somewhere on a spectrum from masculine to feminine genitalia. Genitalia doesn’t affect gender identification, hence how all of the exo members are still male.
What I mean when I say ‘falling on a spectrum’ is that on one end you’ve got people who only have penises and external testes, in the most traditional sense of ‘masculine genitalia’ as we know it, and then on the other end you’ve got people who only have vaginas, vulvas, uteri, ovaries, all that in the most traditional sense of ‘feminine genitalia’. And then you have literally everyone in between with mixed hormones and, usually, mixed genitalia.
Since it’s a spectrum, most people fall on either side of the ‘middle’ perfect balance of having both feminine and masculine genitalia. This could be as subtle as someone having a penis and internal testicles or someone having a vulva and noticeably large clit, to more blatantly mixed results like a penis having individual also having a vulva of varying depth -- it's all just depending on where in the spectrum they fall. Functionality depends on individual cases and how reproductively capable they are ALSO depends.
Some people can both impregnate and carry, but most can only do one. And there are plenty of people who can’t reproduce because of hormone imbalances (just like in real life) as well as people who end up in relationships that are reproductively incompatible. And then you have some people who DO fall smack dab in the middle of the spectrum as seen with Yifan and Jongdae (Junmyeon and Jongin don’t quite count because they’re a little more masculine spectrum leaning, as seen with how they have penises - as opposed to phalluses - and how both their vulvas function but only through deliberate contact) in this story. Being in the middle of the spectrum usually means you have all genitalia and usually also means you can wet orgasm from all said genitalia. This definitely leads to some need for suspension of belief but these characters also go into heat so…I’m assuming you all will…go with me on this.
Wait, what’s the difference between a penis and a phallus?
That’s more personal preference of referencing to your junk but generally people who are distinctly masculine spectrum with only penises and testes refer to their penis as a penis. Everyone else less definitive with overlaps of vulvas and external/internal testicles and uteri and ovaries and clitorises tend to refer to their penises or (phallus-like) clits as a ‘clit phallus’/'phallus clit' or ‘phallus’ for short. Some don’t though! There are plenty of people with ‘less definitive’ phalluses or who are even born with ‘distinctly feminine spectrum’ genitalia who may use penis and other masculine terminology to refer to their genitalia, if that’s how they identify themselves. Same goes for those definitive penis havers: some of them may use less definitively masculine terminology for their genitalia if that’s what they like.
Technically though, a phallus clit/clit phallus is any clit that MAY, but does not necessarily, discharge/ejaculate. So technically (again, not taking into account that people with any genitalia may id regardless of what their genitalia typically is categorized as) clits never can discharge and aren’t phalluses, while phalluses SOMETIMES can discharge.
Urgh is this confusing? I’ll break it down again:
+Some phalluses are capable of discharging but some aren’t. Phalluses also typically more closely imitate a penis shape (with a head and shaft,) so is usually less ‘squat’ than a large clitoris may be. Phalluses, like any genitalia, vary in width and length. Yifan for example, has a pretty skinny phallus that is maybe the same width around as like two fingers.
+People with clit phalluses often also have testes (internally or externally) but not always.
+Sometimes people with fully functional and typical penises, or penis+vulva combos, will call their penis a penis, sometimes a phallus. Sometimes even a clit, if that’s their id.
+Phalluses CAN be something like a fully functional penis. They can ALSO be more akin to a large clit that discharges. Some phalluses can’t discharge, but are differentiated from a ‘typical clit’ by the shape. As you can see, this is a really loose way of differentiating something, and it’s why what sets lots of clits and phalluses apart is really lax. Example: Baekhyun considers his clit phallus just that, despite the fact that his phallus can’t discharge since he doesn’t have testes. Yifan on the other hand will shift between calling his phallus a (clit) phallus and sometimes just a clit, because to him it’s all basically the same.
+More typical clits CAN come in sizes as large as a micro penis, but typically can’t discharge. But see above about why that’s lax for some people when it comes to defining what they have.
+The main takeaway here is that at the end of the day the technical terms go out the window when it comes to what people refer to themselves and what they have.
So yeah, mostly this universe functions on ‘this is the general trend that doctors in the field use for classifying, and then there’s just exceptions all over the place in layman’s terms because people refer to genitalia based on personal gender id-ing and that’s cool with everyone’.
Knotting?
I originally wasn’t even going to include knotting because it was an extra layer of logistics to have to stare at, but the second I dismissed it I then became ridiculously determined to look at every aspect of a/b/o that you commonly see. Uh so it’s pretty typical of most knotting used with this trope. Penises and vulvas alike knot for alphas only. A phallus knot is exactly what you think it is: the knot swells after ejaculation to lock a pair together. I mention it a lot all over the pwp sections, but with the teenagers being hormonal and their bodies being in a developmental stage, sometimes the order of ejaculation and knotting or how much or how quickly alphas ejaculate and how long the knot lasts varies because their bodies are just kind of in a freaking free-for-all right now when it comes to the rules.
As for vulva-having alphas knotting we call that ‘yonic knotting’ because why the hell not, right? Anyway the principle is pretty much the same: the vulva swells to lock the phallus inside and sort of erm, milk the come out (you have no idea how much I’m laughing at myself as I type this oh my god). Knotting is painful for both parties because why would it not be? The pain can range from vaguely uncomfortable to really really painful without the proper prepwork.
As I said, only alphas knot. They knot after masturbating too, but it’s usually a much shorter and less painful knot than it would be with a partner. And yeah, knots can be painful because the genitalia is swelling. Heat knots are much worse and much much larger and last much longer. I keep thinking really hard and long about knotting in anal sex too, because in this verse you knot every time you have sexual stimulation to the point of climaxing. I think my final conclusion is that having anal heat sex is SUPER SUPER ill advised, or at least takes a super intense amount of prep for the receiving party (i.e. think of the type of prepwork for double penetration or fisting, as well as probably the necessity of measuring the alpha’s knot size beforehand to insure no one’s seriously injured by the ordeal). However normal knotting is fine with a more typical amount of anal prep with lube and stretching. Some people like anal sex and others don’t because it always hurts or is uncomfortable for them or they don’t like the sensation or the prep is tiring, etc./whatever. Also there’s always plenty of ways to do anal stimulation with toys to avoid dealing with knotting if that's more what you want to deal with.
More details on heat?
For alphas and omegas they have a heat once a month. Heats are pretty much the same across the board, right? Releasing pheromones like crazy, being sweaty and hot and horny, involuntary orgasms, the whole deal.
Betas also go in heat because I just feel like if a good portion of the population is going to suffer, everyone needs to suffer through raging hormones. Also just how I’ve shaped this world with the spectrum means there’s very little biological difference between everyone so there isn’t much reason why betas should be exempt completely from heat. Anyway, betas only go in heat every 3 or 4 months, just by virtue of that's what makes them betas. I guess in a way you could say alphas are biologically defined by their knotting, omegas by their monthly heats, and betas by their less frequent heats. I'm a little hesitant to say that, I guess, since it sort of undermines the whole 'individualized identity' thing I'm going for here. But it's a pretty apt description, so I'll throw it out there.
Anyway, teenagers’ heats and young to middle aged adults’ heats are different because ~*puberty*~. When you’re young, there’s usually a lot of pre-heat pheromone/hormone releasing and so people easily can kind of scent out who’s what a/b/o-wise. Then, heats last basically a full day: the first part is the ‘build up’ where your body works its way into sexually frustrated, then the renowned part with the craving sex and involuntarily orgasming. If youngsters have sex or stimulate themselves during this part, it usually draws out this stage because you’re body hates you hahaha. No really because at this age, stimulation tells your body that you’re ~procreating~ and you have the capability and energy to keep going to ensure said procreation. Eventually you’ll move into the cool down stage where your body works its way out of the last of the sexual energy.
Adults have the same build up-peak-let down process, but it’s usually not all day (maybe more half a day?) and if they stimulate or have sex the heat will usually end afterwards because your body recognizes that you’ve ~*procreated*~ or whatever. Also there’re pills and hormones to suppress heats, but because of the nature of the medicine and hormones it’s really not recommended to start suppressants until 18-20. More careful doctors will recommend later (20), but some doctors believe 18 can be a possible age depending on the individual case. Honestly, in the field there are some doctors who are little reckless about prescribing hormones and suppressants and addressing heat-puberty issues because a lot of issues have to be heavily considered on an individual basis and sometimes it leads to some physicians ignoring any and all precedence when they shouldn’t.
Wait so do people not have periods?
Well, no they do. Since there isn’t really ‘mpreg’ in the traditional sense of a/b/o verse…it would make sense that people menstruate. But not all people who menstruate are fertile and not all people with vulvas menstruate depending on their hormones and if their vulva is actually functioning + if they have all the right internal plumbing (like for instance I know Jongin doesn’t have all the internal reproductive organs necessary to menstruate). I didn’t sit down and deliberate who menstruates and who doesn’t, though? (It'd probably be easy to figure out though.) I also don’t detail menstruation in-depth in story at any point, so don’t worry about that coming out of left field all of a sudden or anything.
But yeah, basically how it works is a few days to a week after your heat if you’re not pregnant you go into menstruation -- in what obviously has to be the funnest time in the month ever for all those menstruating people. Also betas menstruate every month despite not going into heat every month, because they still are ovulating and capable of getting pregnant even off heat. Technically alphas and omegas are also able to get pregnant from sex had while not in heat (and a missed heat is a huge sign of pregnancy that's way more reliable than a missed period once you're older and your heat has stabilized) but it's just that heat sex is basically optimal conditions and a prime time for getting pregnant for everybody. And since alphas and omegas have monthly heats it's just more likely that they'll get pregnant from heat sex than betas.
Breasts?
Okay so it depends, some people develop breasts and some people don’t and it depends on hormones and the individual. Some people with breasts bind, some only have small breasts and are generally fine with strapping down with a sports bra, and some people have breasts and are fine with more general support and not binding in any way. There’s also laxer recommendations and laws concerning hormones and surgery for breasts at young ages than there are for stuff pertaining to heats. Genital restructuring is a little stricter than breasts stuff, but also laxer than medication and hormones for messing with heats as well. You also have people who pack (jock straps/underwear, bras, etc. depending on what they present as and what they have) or have breast forms (Liyin, for example, has breast forms). In the group here’s who has what:
Minseok: breasts; binds whenever he’s going to be out and about, but if they’re at someone’s house chilling or he’s in for the night, he unbinds and goes free-for-all cuz whatever, y’know?
Lu Han: no breasts.
Yifan: teeny tiny breasts, like barely has them? Doesn't need to wear bras for his little mosquito bites because he's so incredibly nearly flat chested, so he doesn't. Only time his boobs are noticeable is when Yifan's wearing a really tight shirt -- and if he does wear a tight shirt then for decency he throws on one of his like two training sports bras, which obviously he also wears for basketball. Otherwise if he's wearing a loose shirt or not doing a sport, then he just leaves them alone to be lost in the folds of his shirt. Also they're also not really sensitive or anything, which is why there isn't any nipple action in any of the pwp scenes.
Junmyeon: no breasts. This is never mentioned in story a single time because it starts happening in college, but Junmyeon ends up with some really nice breast forms he wears every now and again with some practical (but super high quality) bras.
Yixing: breasts; binds some days and only wears support bras on others at a pretty even fifty-fifty split, just depending on his body image that day. Half of those days he binds he also packs.
Baekhyun: breasts; never binds. But also this asshole does not own a single solitary bra because he likes to embarrass everyone around him/is only sometimes a pasties type of dude when he foresees the potential pointy nipples issue popping up from cold air conditioning. Even then, sheer laziness/audacity/not giving a shit sometimes may still take precedence and mean he'll go commando anyway. Sometimes when they’re going somewhere nice, Kyungsoo snatches him up and straps Baekhyun’s boobs down for him and is just like “what the hell are you going to do without me after we graduate?” and Baekhyun’s just like “be wild and free at formal events and make awesome rebel statements with my amazingly beautiful tits.”
Jongdae: breasts; pretty small already, so uses sports bras for support+a little strapping down action and calls it a day.
Chanyeol: no breasts.
Kyungsoo: breasts; binds 100% of the time. Jongin had to get on him about even binding in his sleep, so he finally stopped doing it.
Tao: breasts. Wears frilly, beautiful, lingerie bras whenever he’s not wearing sports bras for exercise and martial arts. Because Tao has ~expensive tastes~.
Jongin: no breasts.
Sehun: breasts; has really cutesy bras with like strawberries and pastel patterns and little bows on them, because he used to only have black sports bras and then Tao infiltrated his wardrobe and threw basically all but three of them out. Sehun binds maybe ......15% of the time? It depends on the fashion he’s rocking, but sometimes on some days he just decides he doesn’t want the contours of his breasts to disrupt the fitted silhouette of his jacket (or something like that) and binds.
How are people determined alpha, omega or beta? Does it determine who they can be with?
You’re just born as whatever you’re born as. It’s up to chance and not really genetics or anything -- like what your parents are won't determine what you are. And anyone can be with anyone else (which you see plenty of in this story)…think of it like zodiac signs maybe? In the sense that what your alignment is does/can influence slightly what your disposition is or how much of an aggressor you might be, but for the most part it’s up to your personality and individual choices. There are plenty of omegas who can be aggressive as hell when they want to be, but are sometimes with certain people and in certain situations a little more inclined to let others take the lead…but they still have a domineering personality. Like I just described how Kyungsoo is in the story without meaning to, oops.
As for pack dynamics...honestly people really only sometimes adhere to the power dynamics that are supposedly determined by their alignments, and even then usually only in family and friend groups. Back in the day it was probably more common in society as a whole, but nowadays people only really fall back on alignment stereotypes as jokes or casually discriminatory microagressions that you're likely to see in politics or high schools etc. Alignment stereotypes are also pretty common as kinks too I guess, haha. But yeah, even in the 'packs' of families and friends, power dynamics don't play out as the alpha(s) just control and order around everyone else, they're just a little more likely to take control of a situation or make suggestions (like what to order for takeout dinner etc.) and betas are more likely to just go along with the flow while omegas might be more likely to try and appease everyone. And this is all very generalized and without taking into account the personalities at play and relationships that might shape how everyone interacts.
Also what your alignment is as well as the act of having heats doesn’t define your sexuality and gender - that’s pretty much determined by the individual. People can be aromantic and/or asexual despite having heats. Later on in life some aro and/or ace people prefer to go on the medication/hormones that suppress heats, and others don’t. Everything is super individual based in this world.
You’re fetishizing intersex and/or transgender and/or genderqueer people.
I hope it doesn’t seem like that, since I honestly just wanted to see people like myself normalized in a fic. I mean, on one hand you can’t really fetishize yourself but on another hand I’m also not the representative of every intersex/trans/genderqueer person in the world (even in that list of three my experiences don’t encapsulate every one of those identities).
Alright, me being less idk snarky(?) about this, the real question at hand here is more ‘this seems very similar to real life intersex, trans, and genderqueer people in certain ways, why?’. And you’re right. As previously explained, this verse (a way for me to play around with rl junk that bothers me) is set in a world where gender binary isn’t that strict and most of the population falls on a spectrum of genitalia, and how that impacts the society etc. It’s also just one of the few ways I could think to get a/b/o to work? This fic was also originally started as a challenge from a friend who knew that for many many years in fandom (since like…2009 lol) I used to hate a/b/o with a passion. Lately I had been mostly chill about it, and so I was meant to try and confront why I used to feel so strongly about this trope and then tinker around with those bits that used to bother me.
Basically the challenge was: why didn't you like a/b/o? If you were forced to write one, how would you write it so past!you wouldn't hate it? So I took up the challenge and this is what I came up with -- though originally it was supposed to only be a 'concept sketch' or an outline for a a/b/o verse. And now…I mean I’m writing an FAQ for a thirty nine part a/b/o series, so let’s let that speak for itself.
The smut is weird!
YEAH I KNOW. I tried to keep it as separated from the plot as possible so people don’t have to read it if they don’t want to…There’s only 6 explicit scenes and skipping them only really means skipping some emotional building junk, the occasional little characterization, and usually some world-building clarification on the nature of heats and hormones, but nothing too major, so if you want to skip them you can. Of course, there’s some in-story sex mentions or straight up teens discussing their junk because it’s high school, but if that makes you uncomfortable…you might just wanna give this story a miss. I just…this story wasn’t originally meant to be shared but then it got so large that I kind of wanted to? But the origins are so weird and I don’t know what to do about it.
What’s with the weird and overabundant titling in this piece?
Uhhhh great question I…the original title for the entire piece was ridiculous and pretentious because I was really mad at myself for getting WAY too invested rather quickly in this verse I was building (back when this was still maybe three? sex scenes only, and at that point that was three times as many as I had already planned). The initial plan was SUPPOSED to be I use exo members as character placeholders while I worked out universe mechanics just so there were names and faces to the concepts I was fleshing out. There was never supposed to be anything greater and larger and more detailed than a shaky outline. When that started going out the window (before it really REALLY got out of hand) I was pissed at myself and the pretentious name on the word document was my way of venting as well as discouraging myself from working on it too long before going "this is pretentious and I hate it, I hate myself, I'm so angry that I've allowed this to happen" and closing the document in disgust. Unfortunately it didn’t work all that well, clearly, and now I’m just attached to this asshole name for the entire verse. As for the titling patterns of each chapter I just…I figured if I was going to pour this much effort into something because I’m begrudgingly attached to it, I might as well enjoy myself and play around with creativity and stuff…so the chapter titling is literally just I wanted to practice naming things and also it was kind of fun to sit for an hour and think up names and naming patterns and stick to them.
There really isn’t a good reason for a good deal of things about this story.
Did you really build a 39 chapter story around 6 sex scenes?????
Yes. I don’t wanna talk about it.
((jk jk, feel free to ask more questions in the comments, and I’ll answer and/or add them to the main post!))