As is customary, we’re celebrating New Year’s Eve here on Fated Mates with some of our favorite people in a fully headphones-in episode! Pour yourself a drink and pull up a chair, because Omegaversity is in session with professors Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera!

Jen and Sarah get a crash course in this wild end of the romance/fan fic pool. We’re talking about mating heat (!), knotting (!!), butt babies (!!!) and loads of body fluids (!!!!). Seriously, loads of them. When we say headphones in, we mean it. Enter at your own will, abandon all hope, and bring in 2023 right.

Check shownotes for omegaverse recommendations, and enjoy, firebirds!

Thank you, as always, for listening. If you are up for leaving a rating or review for the podcast on your favorite podcasting app, we would be very grateful.

Notes

• Welcome Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera, let's just call them AH2, shall we?
• The New York Times article about the Omegaverse, which is where a lot of us named Jen and Sarah first learned about so much of it. You can also watch this terrific series of videoes from Lindsay Ellis explaining the Omegaverse lawsuits: Into the Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope landed in Federal Court and Addison Cain's lawyer e-mailed me, and it only got worse from there. Also, the video essay The Rise (and Rise) of the Omegaverse by Rowan Ellis.
• Ali recommends reading this quick Omegaverse primer. Or this other list of how the Omegaverse worldexploded.
• You should read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which is a good example of how there are books out there telling the stories we want about the characters we love.

For Your Consideration: A List of Recommendations of Omegaverse Fics from AH2

• A quick reminder to please check all tags and CWs as you explore the Omegaverse!
• Ali and Adriana both agree that a great starting point for Reylo ABO is Can't Turn Off What Turns Me On by audreyii_fic. But there are tons of Reylo fics recommended by AH2. If you want ABO in the workplace + elevators, try Gonna Get Myself Connected by TourmalineGreen. If you want something sweet and fluffy try (I Want to See You) As You Are Now by walkingsaladshooter or your name (twine it with mine) by lachesisgrimm (olga_theodora). For an enemies to lovers Reylo vibe, Ali recommends like my heart longs for an ocean by hi_raeth. He's the Omega in sharpen your teeth and sink into me by Like_A_Dove. If you want your fic with a sidecar of knitting puns, try The Knotting Shop by crossingwinter. Some others AH2 agree on: Reclaimed by Betts, Juniper and Bergamot by SaintHeretical, and Abash the Little Bird by SecretReyloTrash.
• Coveted by OptimisticBeth is a crossover between Star Wars and Mercy Thompson.
• If you have a lot of time on your hands, try the Reylo ABO hereafter by voicedimplosives. If you want lots of voyerism with your Reylo, check out An Unexpected Vacation by tigbit
• If you're looking for ABO but vampires, try a little death (goes a long way) by crossingwinter
• Adriana recommends trying any Stucky fic by GiselleSlash.
• Ali recs Hello, Heartbreaker by astoryaboutwar or The Chase by Tipsy_kitty. In this universe, everyone’s a werewolf and Ali says it's a great starting point for ABO, written for a fandom that has tons of amazing ABO fics. Another TeenWolf fic you might enjoy is
• If you want to try some Sherlock fic (not with Lucy Liu, but Jen believes it must be out there!), check out The Breath Between Us and The Breath Before Us by fayfayfay.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2022/12/29/s0515-omegaversity
• If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
• Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
• If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.