By Courtney
Most omegaverse manga is riddled with trigger warnings from the get – but How My Daddies Became Mates by Mikkamita might be the exception. This story is told in reverse, as two married men explain their love story to their curious child. In this way, it is both nostalgic and full of reminiscing, and also a fresh take on a genre that usually takes half the story to traumatize you with animalistic urges and reactions before softening into a true romance.
Told through flashbacks to their past, we see Akane as a teenage alpha going to confront a hoodlum from another school at a hangout underneath a bridge. When he arrives, he finds an omega named Aoi who, despite his secondary sex characteristics, is just as strong as him and has been beating people up to protect a kitten he’s been watching over. I love it when characters are equal matches for each other, and in this story, we get that dynamic – regardless of the usual omegaverse stereotypes. We have an omega who is soft-hearted but tough as nails when it comes to protecting what he loves.
They experience an immediate attraction due to their pheromones. Still, the alpha fights his urges to act like an animal and salvages the story from entering into sexual assault territory, which is a huge blessing compared to the genre’s norm. From that moment on, they build their friendship first and then eventually admit their feelings and succumb to the fated mate trope that I know and love so much. Soon after mating, they have their child and, “That kid is how I met your father!”
The story is simple: it is sweet, and it is spicy! I met my husband when I was 18, and he was 20 years old. It felt very realistic to how I might explain our origin story to our future children—omitting the naughty stuff but remembering it fondly and letting it rekindle the love anew in the next chapter of our lives. As I write this, on the tenth anniversary of my husband and I first hooking up (I remember because it was Father’s Day 2015), I can’t help but smile thinking about the family we will have one day. Stories like this make getting older and the responsibilities of life seem lighter and more romantic, which is a big reason why I read them. It is not only an escape from reality but a reminder to be excited about the possibilities of your reality.
That being said, I’m going to go on a date to the Dandadan movie in theaters to celebrate a decade in love with my alpha! Hopefully, it ends with one of the scenes from these books – if you catch my drift! If you want to hear a more detailed analysis of this series, make sure to check out the podcast episode on it! You can find it on all the podcast platforms and over on our YouTube, which I’ll link below! Thank you so much for reading, listening, rating, reviewing, and subscribing. Talking to you guys about my delusional boyfriends is my favorite thing to do! Until next time, remember sometimes the delusion is the solution!
Yours in Deep Delusion,
Courtney