Just wondering how the dynamics of such a relationship would work, and if there are any fics that demonstrate this.

I could never share my BF

I'm not certain how polyamory works. It's pretty complicated and variable. I think that the main thing is trust and consent; all parties trust one another and kno what they're getting into, and they're okay with it.

3066366

Imagine if there were two of your boyfriend.

At first, it's just like two exact duplicates.

Over time, they experience life differently and their personalities diverge. After a decade, they're both different from each other and from who they were to begin with.

But you still love both of them.

Now imagine they were never the same person to begin with, but they're both still your boyfriends.

Polyamory achieved.

3066366
I'm sure plenty of fics in this group do. Basically the dynamic is that you all love each other equally or are willing to share your partner with someone else if they love someone else whom you are fond of as well maybe and are indeed willing to share rather than getting clingy and bitchy about it, as you said. I think Pound My Pumpkin by Tatsurou sorta does this, even though that has incest as the main focus for a bit. That's about it really... as far as I can describe it.

Oh and You Make My Whole Life Worthwhile by Steel Resolve is a Polyamory story which is working out Fluttershy being in love with Pinkie Pie while Pinkie's engaged to Rarity, as it occurred in the prequel to that story, their falling in love and getting engaged. And Pinkie's trying to work things out so they don't lose Fluttershy because she wanted to hide/run away for falling in love with Pinkie, then Rarity was kind of a dumdum and yelled at Fluttershy for hiding it and kissing her fiance as well, but mostly the latter.

And as Reverse Clopper said, there is a lot of trust required probably, since it's more than two people in that case and making sure two of three persons (or ponies in this case) don't fall in love more than all three at any time, without the third. And making sure you don't hide this perhaps, like in the above example or Room for One More by bats, since that's a similar Polyamory story starting out with TwiDash but later involving Applejack in their bedroom antics as the result of Twi pushing her marefriend for a fantasy to be fulfilled and somehow both (or at least Dash with certainty, for now) end up falling in love with her, as well as her loving them but all're hiding it for fear of ruining the already existing relationship between Twilight and Rainbow, at least. And that sorta thing usually comes out horribly, at least if it's hidden like that, as it did in the other story in the last paragraph.

3066366
Sorry, I edited my reply a few times since I first posted, if you wanna relook at it now; if you already have, that is.

3066366 I think my fic does an okay job. Maybe not. Maybe I'm just a comment whore trying to get my fix... *Twitch*

Out side of approximately 30 to 40 thousand words, I guess it's based on a mutual love and respect. It's like a happy ending to a love triangle.

Actually, this one is way better.

3066440

Polygamy Achieved

3068367

Dominant
Voice of Reason
Submissive

Ha! Awesome role.

'I'm the dominant!'
'I'm the submissive!'
'I'm the sane one...'

3068770
Sounds like a pretty awesome thing.

Us power-exchangey people can get pretty wrapped up in our little games. Perhaps more than we really should. And often buy into our roles a biiiiit too much.

3066440

It's probably worth noting that poly relationships may not be exactly equivalent between one persons partners, and I'd guess it's even rarely this case since one of the strengths of polyamory is people can support one another in different ways. Redundant duplicates appeal to the engineer in me, but ahead of cloning it's probably not feasible and would a waste of the opportunity to build relationships with a variety of people.

The relationships between those who share a partner but aren't directly in a "relationship" relationship themselves, who I've heard called 'metamores', definitely add another layer of complexity.

3068833

I know; I was trying to develop a series of scenarios that could bring OP from a position he's comfortable with (being with someone he already loves) to the position he's asking about (being with two different people) without ever making a change big enough that he would be reasonably able to say that he no longer loves one of them.

The relationships between those who share a partner but aren't directly in a "relationship" relationship themselves, who I've heard called 'metamores', definitely add another layer of complexity.

To me, that sounds awkward and unpleasant. I don't think it's fair to anyone involved. Not that I'm saying nobody could be happy in a relationship like that, but I know I wouldn't, so I don't think I could ever convince someone else of its virtues.

I can't imagine having to share my love with someone who didn't care for me, and I also can't imagine forcing someone to share me with someone they didn't love. Besides, how are we supposed to have a fulfilling threesome if two partners don't want to touch each other?

If you want to boil it down another way, think about close friends. Most people have two or three mutual friends who they share a lot of time and space with, who have different sets of shared or overlapping interests. You don't spend all your time worrying about introducing another friend to your set... or maybe you do, but you don't think it's weird to want to do that.

You wont' spend all your time with all your friends either. Sometimes you'll go bolwing together, sometimes you'llll hit a bar with just one or another. Sometimes you'll just sit around watching TV for hours, or playing games. Sometimes a couple of them will do their own thing. You're still friends.

Polyamory is taking that group dynamic and adding sex as a thing to do together.

The dynamics of the relationship work like any other group dynamic. Sexual interaction becomes another shared interest.

At least that's the theory...

For me it is a step away from the concept of possession. Your significant other is not an object, and if you think of them that way your relationship is unhealthy.

What is important to the relationship is love. Loving someone means their happiness and health are important to you. Perhaps more important than your own. Their happiness is necessary for you to be happy.

Where poly begins to work is when, like Pinkie Pie learned in Pinkie Pride, you don't necessarily have to be the source of that happiness. As long as your significant other is happy, that is a good thing. If the relationship is healthy, that still works both ways.

The other pillar that polyamory stands upon is the acceptance of substantial parts of human nature. People change over time. No two people are perfectly matched, and even if they somehow are, they soon won't be as the years roll by. Polyamory solves that dilemma by letting any one person safely be with more than one partner, so that the combination of partners can fulfill a greater amount of needs.

Another point most people overlook is that humans as a general rule are social animals, and tend to get along. It isn't actually that hard to find people you get along with, even if you have few common interests. Finding two or more people you get along with and can live with is not that hard.

Threesomes and variety are also really good selling points.

Lastly, the biggest hurdle most people seem to point out is that polyamorous relationships are "complicated" compared to monogomous ones. This is only technically true. The real problem is that most couples don't engage in enough communication for their existing monogomous relationships, so the fact that polyamorous ones might require more is moot. As with any relationship, everyone involved needs to be clear about their expectations and needs.