#well future romance

[caffichai]

"Alright then, Cowgirl, show me you know how to ride.”

A piece for my friend @fishing-lesbian-catgirl 's story: Coldshot's Called Shot

It's spicy! If you like it spicy, give it a read! Bonus extra spicy artwork by yours truly featured in the story too

[janicemarieaudio]

Okay, so I started watching the new Fairly OddParents show called “A New Wish,” and apparently it’s a semi-serialized series, unlike the original.

And I’m not sure if the new series will chronicle Hazel as she gets older, again, unlike the original series, but with the development that Dev has gotten with his relationship with Hazel, they’re definitely giving childhood enemies to friends to maybe even possibly lovers in the future.

I can see Dev develop (haha) a crush on Hazel as the series goes on, if it is actually gonna be a semi-serialized series.

Again, I don’t know if this new show will end up going that route since the series literally just started a few months ago, and the characters are 10-11 years old, but it would be pretty cool.

Also, um POOF- I’m sorry- PERI?! He’s a full blown adult fairy now! Also, why he looking kinda… 😳😳😳

[fatty-thao]

I'm glad they kept the premise with Caleb, guy is a yandere through and through, and doesn't hesitate in showing it

I want to see the maze he would build for MC, filled with her favourite things so she won't have the need to go out any more.

I want to see the bells they would put on each other, chiming in rythm as they walk, run, do "stuff" with each other

I don't want they to tone down Caleb, please just keep him as he is now.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I wouldn't really agree that boys are just arm candy in magical girl shows and only there to look cute. Yeah, sure the girls' friendships are the focus, but the boys are usually very much involved in the plot and most shows do explore their feelings about the odd things that happen due to magical shenanigans even if they aren't in the know (It's why ML baffles me even more with how they screwed up Adren's arc when he's the deuteragonist, when all these boys are supporting cast and get well rounded arcs)

I'm not much of a winx fan, but the specialists were very much not arm candy. Did the girls talk about them being cute? Yes, it's what teenage girls do. Did the narrative suggest they were good looking? Yes, but that's standard for most love interests in any genre. But we still got scenes with them talking amongst themselves about how they themselves feel and they got a fair share of badass fight scenes even if they wield no magic. A large amount of episodes actually included the boys and girls working as a team solving a mystery or fighting a villain. The girls might deal the finishing blow but the boys were still integral to the plot.

I hope this doesn't come across as hate, it definitely wasn't my intention. I'm just a bit too passionate about the magical girl genre.

I do think you have a good point with ML having a problem choosing a genre or blending two genres successfully.

For the CCS fans, I will add though that Cardcaptor Sakura had both Tomoyo and Syaoran serve as sources of motivation for Sakura. And both Sakura and Syaoran collecting cards even if Sakura is the only one who could seal them and yet never made you question whether Syaoran was even necessary for the job the way ml does with Chat.

I wasn't trying to say that boys have no part to play in magical girl team shows or that they're always treated as having no lives beyond the girls, that's why I mentioned that the Winx Club boys - aka, the Specialists - have their own (mostly off screen) lives and occasionally show up help the girls:

the boys are usually off doing their own thing and only occasionally show up for a date or to give the girls a ride on their cool bikes or magical spaceship

Even then, this is certainly a simplification of the roles that they play in the story, but I kind of had to simplify their roles down to their base components for the original post's discussion as I was talking in broad strokes of how these stories are written.

In terms of those broad strokes, the Specialists are absolutely only there for shipping fodder. That's why each one is assigned to a girl from the start and why their main role in the narrative is supporting their assigned love interest or causing relationship-based drama for their assigned love interest. If it weren't for shipping, then the Specialists would not exist.

While the Specialists do have fleshed out characters and may even effect the plot, the execution of those elements is designed around the girls. A really obvious example of this is the character Timmy, who has character development as the boy's tech guy. Why is he into technology? Because he's the designated love interest for the fairy of Technology and we have to show why they're a good match. Along similar lines, the boys don't really get plots that are removed from the girls because this is the girl's show. Every episode features one or more of the Winx, but the boys are optional and often don't appear.

This is because, narratively speaking, the boys are just love interests and that brings us back to Miraculous' big problem. You can't have a show where Adrien is written like a Specialist while also being part of the Winx Club and where Alya is written like she's part of the Winx Club while technically being more of a Specialist in terms of power set and actual narrative role.

I'm was thinking back to my memories of various Winx Club plots to find one that really highlighted what I mean here and I remembered that one of the big dramas in season one was the reveal that Bloom's love interest - Sky - was in an arranged marriage and had just never told her. As it turns out, that's a great example of what I'm talking about re Adrien!

Is that plot line technically based around Sky and letting his life effect the plot? Sure, but the fallout of that reveal revolves around Bloom, not Sky. The story doesn't really care how Sky's feeling as the conflict progresses. Instead, it focuses on how it affects Bloom and her friends because of course it does! She's the main character. It would be really weird if that plot suddenly focused on her side character love interest and his friends during one of her darkest hours/biggest moments.

Think of that and then consider how the ending of season five is written. Notice any similarities? Sure, this is Adrien's family drama, but because he's just a Specialist, the focus isn't on him. It's on Winx Club member Marinette and Adrien only shows up at the end for a kiss. That is the problem. That is what I'm talking about when I say that Miraculous will randomly write him as if we're watching a magical girl team show where Adrien is just the love interest.

In fact, let's really dig into this example because it's a good one.

You can have a look at the transcript for the finale episode of Miraculous season five here and see for yourself that Adrien doesn't even show up on screen until the final scenes when the big drama is over. The Winx Club wiki also has episode transcripts, so I took a look to see what happened in Winx land during the arranged marriage reveal plot (I love that this is a thing. It's so useful for fact checking myself!) This is the script for the episode after Bloom learns the truth. Sky does not appear even though his lies and family drama are the fuel for this episode's events, which are a major part of the season's arc. Note how perfectly that matches Adrien's writing?

Similarly, Sky's dialogue in the reveal episode is all about Bloom. He's worried about her learning the truth and thinking less of him. To match that, here's Adrien's only real dialogue in the penultimate episode of season five (full transcript):

Adrien:(Covers his ears.) I cannot transform... (Looks at his ring and tries taking it off.) Plagg: What are you doing?! Adrien: I'm not in my right mind. I'm too angry — at myself for falling short of Marinette's love, at my father for sending me here in London, at this stupid app and these rings that use my image... it makes me sick! This nightmare is giving me the horrible feeling that, if I transform, I'll get akumatized and destroy everything with my Cataclysm — Marinette, Ladybug... (Takes off the ring and hands it to Plagg.)

Switching back to Winx. After Bloom learns the truth about Sky, bad things happen because she's depressed. This results in her and the Winx going off on a journey to learn the truth of who Bloom is. After the girls share this big plot moment and Bloom gets her mojo back, the boys show up to be their ride home and to give Bloom her romance moment where Sky wins her back by declaring that he broke off the arranged married because he loves her.

Sky notably doesn't get an arc about choosing between his arranged marriage and his true love. We don't even know that the marriage is broken off until he tells Bloom because that was never really a conflict as far as the narrative was concerned. Of course he's going to pick Bloom! He's her designated side character love interest! He only exists to be with her. We don't need to treat this as a serious thing for him. The arranged marriage plot was never about him anyway. It was about giving Bloom a reason to have a darkest hour moment that moves the plot forward. Similarly, Sky calling off the marriage is nowhere near as important as him telling Bloom that he's called off the marriage to be with her in a grand romantic gesture.

This perfectly mirrors Miraculous' season five ending where Adrien doesn't appear until after Marinette is done fighting her big girl power fight against his father. As far as the writing is concerned, that fight isn't about him. His connection to the villain only really matters in terms of how it affects Marinette's actions during the final battle. Then, when the battle is over, Adrien shows up to give Marinette her big romance moment because, while the plot may be driven by Adrien's family, he is not a Winx club member. He's just a Specialist. Or, in the words of the head writer:

[image text: She's Barbie, he's Ken. You don't like it. I get it. It won't change. Anything else?] (The full, even more damning context of this tweet can be found here.)

What else can I say other than, "I rest my case."

Oh, and also that I didn't take this as an attack. I just thought it was a good opportunity to really dig into the nuances of this and what I was talking about in that original post as I never know how obvious this stuff is if you don't closely study story telling. As this case study hopefully shows, if a show is about a group of girl friends using the power of friendship, then their love interests may have important roles, but the boys are never going to be more important than the girls and most of the boy's screen time will be focused on romance and how their existence effects the girls because it's ultimately the girls' world. Without them, the show wouldn't exist. Without the boys? Well, then we just wouldn't have a romance plot.

[nightmanatee]

god fucking damnit I am so tired of lis reddit fandom👐 every time some new info comes out about MAX'S new game there's always the "b-but where's my fav character???? but what about this thing??? but how are they gonna show that????" and I just wanna ask them like... do you even like max as her own person? do you even like her in the first place?

[handmemyglockenspiel-imgoingin]

Tourist Trapped: Smallest Emo Rythym Guitarist Falls Into World's Largest Bong Roadside Attraction, Fans in Uproar

41-year-old rythym guitarist and father, Frank Iero, was found this Tuesday morning, miraculously uninjured but inexplicably stuck at the bottom of one of America's lesser known tourist attractions, the World's Largest Semi-Smokable Bong.

While bandmates and friends seem somewhat desperate to save their guitarist, fans seem content to pose at the scene for selfies and autographs - the latter being understandably more difficult to accomplish.

"He was small enough to get in this mess, you'd figure he'd be small enough to get out of it," frontman Gerard Way told the press at the scene of the incident. "Ah, well. He's got air, he'll be fine."

To ensure the guitarist does not go hungry, the remaining members of alternative emo rock band My Chemical Romance have come together to provide sustenance.

"See here," said Ray Toro, lead guitarist and cupcake connoisseur, "We've got all these chip bags, right? He loves these - but the trick is getting them in there. So we're kind of just chucking them in the air the best we can and hoping they'll make it in."

As he said this, bassist Mikey Way demonstrated for the assembled crowd, while his ever-supportive brother cheered him on in the background.

"That was a ten-pointer!" the frontman declared, the lucky bag of Doritos making its landing on the head of the presumably disgruntled Iero.

"Yeah," Way continued, squinting against the sun as he observed the scene. He took a long, contemplative sip of his Starbucks latte, then nodded. "He's alright in there."

While Way seems mostly unconcerned, rumors are circulating that a petition is in place to attempt to smoke the man if it receives 420 signatures in a 69 hour time frame.

In the meantime, a small gang of fans have posed the idea of assembling a crane outside the bong - not to rescue Iero, but to deliver his guitar to him so he can perform for the crowd, even in his time of distress.

Although this is certainly a trying time for the guitarist, some have expressed doubts as to what exactly the man was doing in order to have fallen into the monstrously oversized vessel in the first place.

"He went, 'I'm gonna blaze it!' and just fuckin' bolted," Way said to the press. "I've never seen him climb like that for anything. He was really goin' for it."

Foul play is not suspected.

Iero could not be reached for comment.

More to come as events unfold.

[frnkiebby]

yeah, okay, so~🎃

[randomfoggytiger]

Fight the Future Hallway, In-Depth (Part I): "I Just Held You Back"

Mulder's head snaps up from his father's old photos when a knock raps at his door.

Scully opens the door, advancing slowly in, resolute in her decision but hesitant in her method of delivery. Her left hand twitches, her lips tighten, her expression remains muted and war torn. Already determined to aid him by leaving.

Mulder senses her weariness, senses her something else; and asks softly, "What's wrong?"

She responds flatly, unemotionally: "Salt Lake City, Utah. Transfer effective immediately." Punctuating her recital with a gulp.

Mulder looks away, annoyed at this obstacle, snide at the FBI's interference; then sits back in his chair, frustrated by what he believes to be her lack of faith and conviction. He begins fidgeting as that annoyance blooms into emotional turbulence.

Again unemotional, again flat, Scully says, "I already gave Skinner my letter of," looking up to admit, "resignation."

Mulder coils into himself, bending at the waist, voice slightly thickened with righteous anger and racing fear. "You can’t quit now, Scully," he insists, head down, not wanting to face her denial.  

Scully, unrelenting, hands him the truth-- as she believes it-- no matter how distasteful, knowing-- believing-- she is handing him the key to his success. To freedom. "I can, Mulder. It's done."

Looking down and closing her eyes briefly, she admits in self-deprecation (one eyebrow raised rebukingly at her cowardice), "I debated whether or not to even tell you in person, but--"

Escaping this reality, this moment, is no longer feasible: Mulder explodes, cutting her off, chin shaking with barely suppressed emotion: "We are close to something here--"

Because, for him, it's long since become "we."

He twists around in anger, furious that he has to explain himself to Scully, that she has seemingly lost faith in their mission. In him. But the mission is all that ties them-- all that Mulder has allowed to tie them-- so he grasps for that life preserver: "--we are on the verge--"

The first spark of life flickers in Scully: still too detached, too dispirited for complete frustration, she cuts him off. "You're on the verge." Pausing to close up her emotions once again, she begs, "Please don't do this to me, Mulder."

Mulder doesn't back down, bolting from his chair to pursue that brief acknowledgment of what is shared between them-- disguising his hope, again, in the language of the quest. "After what you saw last night-- after all you've seen-- you can just walk away?"

He's run away from his shakier, unsteadier emotions into familiar, though barbed, debate, believing he can prod her beyond her stubborn boundaries and back to his side.

This angle, unfortunately, only reinforces Scully's decision: leaving him because she's failed him, will continue to be a hindrance to him. Immovable, unflappable, and flat once again, she masks her expression into one of ease. Unable to maintain the facade for long, she looks to the side while halting through "I did. It's done."

Mulder cracks, throwing aside all pretense in a last desperate attempt: I need you on this, Scully." His way of repeating her plea back to her.

Scully shakes her head no before he’s even finished her name, continuing its hypnotic, robotic pivot as she softly refutes, "You don't need me, Mulder. You never have. I just held you back."

Mulder is shocked, horrified, struck dumb by her assumption-- a strikingly similar parallel to his silence in Never Again: her mind opened to him paralyzes him in inaction.

Scully takes his silence as confirmation of her words; and looks down, pretense gone, while she tries to think of any last words, fruitlessly smacking her lips.  

Realizing the wisdom of a quick departure, she flings "I gotta go" over her shoulder as she begins her retreat.

(Rob Bowman explains, "So she’s running because she’s afraid that he’s going to talk her out of it, and so the best thing she can do is hit the elevator button and go, go, go. She never makes it.")

So, she turns; so, she leaves.

Mulder watches her go, popping his hands on his hips, internally warring to stay back, to go after. Ultimately, he can't let her leave believing a lie, propelling himself forward on that truth alone.

Angry at his cowardice, worried and desperate by her exit, he barges through the door and into the hallway.

Scully is fleeing, was hoping to outpace Mulder before his second wind, doesn't flinch so much as brace herself when he yells "You wanna tell--" after down the hallway. She was expecting this last stand, but had hoped he wouldn't. Discouraged, she keeps walking-- she must flee, flee, flee.

"--yourself that--" immediately snags her attention; and the injustice of his claim-- that she isn't being torn apart by acting on the truth (or what she believes it is), for his sake-- finally provokes anger.

Scully pivots immediately, standing her ground and preparing to fight, seeing that Mulder won't let her go without one-- to his own, she believes, detriment.

"--so you can quit with a clear conscience, you can, but you’re wrong," he finishes, thundering up to her with conviction. He's made his decision and is prepared to tell her the truth. All of it.  

Scully’s veneer has cracked; and she is no longer willing to deal in careful terms to spare their feelings. The truth is the truth, and they both must live and die by it.

"Why did they assign me to you in the first place, Mulder?" she asks, searching his face, hoping he will relent and let her go.

Finding he won't, she continues, voice wavering: "To debunk your work." She pauses, shaking off the last of her apathy to save him-- at least once-- with the truth. She may have been used against Mulder all these years, but she can help him now, even to her own detriment. "To reign you in, to shut you down."

Mulder cuts through her pain, her fear, her fight with a tender, startling admission: "But you saved me."

The truth revealed.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

If I could be arsed to learn how to edit videos and had some kind of mic, I would 110% make a two part video essay series on the politics of Jurassic World because MY GOD, there's so much to dissect.

The first part would be about how the park is the epitome of neoliberal futurism for techbros, including the way the park so easily falls apart though I doubt that aspect is purposeful. Everything is aesthetic first and function second, and we can't possibly use any of the reliable infrastructure we've already come up with because a train is not gonna get us to Mars, but a monorail might.

And the second would be about the buckwild terrible gender politics going on. The movie is deeply unsympathetic to Claire seemingly because she's a woman who prioritised her career as it's both centre to her character arc and also an inciting event of one of the plots. Not to mention the whole Zara thing or the Owen and Claire thing or the stupid "him, I meant him, line. The movie is rife with misogyny, but it feels like that specific misogyny was isekaied over from backlash to second wave feminism.

I could talk about it all for so long because in a way, it feels like a perfect time capsule for 2015. Back when people took Claire running in heels to be this feminist statement to be made fun of and not just a deeply misogynistic movie trying to sell you feminism. And back when Elon Musk managed to get away with his "I'm the real life Iron Man" shit, and people believed he was smart and all his plans would come to fruition. 2015 was a great time to be a tech bro in Silicon Valley with people just throwing money at all your fake promises.

Yeah. See. This is what I mean when I say I could talk about it forever.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Our Lady Of Mysterious Ailments & The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle

books 2 & 3 in the Edinburgh Nights series

paranormal mystery set in a climate-ravaged future Scotland, plagued by ghosts and magic

follows a 15yo Black girl who’s finally gotten an in to learn scientific magic properly - but it turns out to be an unpaid internship, so she has to take more jobs delivering ghost messages and investigating mysteries to take care of her gran and little sister

in book 2 she’s investigating a strange illness centred on a magic school for boys

and in book 3 she’s attending a global magician conference held in a creepy castle - when someone’s murdered, and they’re locked in until she figures out the culprit

Zimbabwean magic, friendship, disabled characters, no romance (so far)

[vasito-de-leche]

Hello. I saw you wrote about the 1999 reverses, can I request something Druvis III romantic with the readers? The way she reacts to lovingly treat her lover at night.

Hope you see my request. Have a good night

;R1999 DRUVIS III - "your favorite flower"

Druvis III x Reader. 800~ words. fluff During the day, she stands as the embodiment of elegance: tall and poised, unwavering under the sun. At night, she takes root by your side, seeking your warmth.

ty for your request! not sure if this is what you were looking for, but I hope you like it either way <3

Long, tangled curls tickle your face, your neck, your arms.

The copper ends of her hair brush against your skin like soft petals, until you're engulfed by her. In here, it smells like cedar, tuberose and amber. It smells like home. A wild strand falls over your eyes, another over your nose.

Your attempt to free yourself only make things worse, but then you hear her laugh. Druvis pulls back just enough to save you from suffocating and you're free to admire the sunset hues of her hair─red tips turning orange, until they finally fade into a light blonde. Her deep, emerald gaze meets you halfway at the same time her hands find yours, fingers interlocked.

And she smiles. The Sun itself looms above you, and then leans down from the stars to kiss the space between your eyebrows.

Over the years, Druvis has shown you her favorite flowers, her favorite trees. She's taken you to the most wonderful sights amidst a sea of green, from the high view atop a hill to the small, budding flowers and the patches of moss on rough bark. You remember the feeling of your bare feet against the moist dirt, the dim light of dawn and her hand in yours, guiding you to cross shallow, clear rivers. To run with her through lush flower fields and to climb or rest under the shade of massive trees on hot days.

But none of this can ever compare to her.

It almost feels sacrilegious to think about that time in the distant past when all you saw in her was a cold, aloof sort of beauty, a look of indifference cast upon the world, as opposed to the lively fire that burns within her. But that was back when you only knew of her family name. Now, you understand her better than most. Druvis isn't the sort of person who hides behind ambiguity or misleading words, she prefers to let her actions speak for her.

When it's time to show you the depth of her affections, she almost never outright says it─she shows you instead.

Sometimes, she looks at you with that adoring expression, one that makes you melt on the spot. Sometimes, she asks that you braid her hair or that you read something with her late at night before it's time to sleep. Sometimes, she takes you to see the blooming flowers within the suitcase. She lets you into her world, allowing you to read her like an open book.

Those eyes are all you need to see to know what goes within her mind, and right now you can tell she's happy. So very happy.

"Did something good happen today?" You murmur into her hair as she buries her head in the crook of your neck, taking in a deep breath. It tickles, and she must have realized because she plants a gentle apology kiss on your shoulder right after.

"Not particularly," the reply is short, like an afterthought or a preamble to the content sight that escapes Druvis.

"Just wondering. You're awfully cuddly tonight."

There's a pause.

"... Does it bother you?"

There is no visible change to her tone nor behaviour, but you notice the way she stops and freezes in place, breathlessly waiting for your reply. Oh no, absolutely not. Before her thoughts can even linger on that possibility, you shift positions─instead of laying on top of you, now she lays by your side─and you move the hair away from her lovely face. There is uncertainty in her eyes, it breaks your heart to see it.

You love her, and the quiet strength she holds. You love her, and the way she cares so deeply about the world. You love her, and you love seeing her happy. You love her, and you lack the words to let her know, and so you decide to show her.

You lean in to kiss her as sweetly as the morning dew kisses the earth in the early morning. Her arms wrap around your waist, caressing your back. This moment could've lasted for all eternity, with your mouth on hers, parting only to whisper sweet nothings and words of reassurance, but the moment Druvis reciprocates the kiss with as much fervor as she can muster, her hair follows.

And oh, God. It tickles so bad.

"Hm? W-wait, wait-!" You're interrupted over and over by her lips, and it's only when you start chuckling and laughing that she opens her eyes and stops.

"Sorry! It's just─pfft! It got to my neck, sorry! Ahh, that really ruined the moment, right? Just when I thought I could look cool in front of you for once ..."

Druvis silently watches as you sit up, shaking off that tingling and ticklish sensation. And just when you're about to apologize one more time, you feel her lips on the nape of your neck. This time, there's no need to turn around and look into her eyes to know just how smitten and endeared she is by you. You just hope she doesn't comment on how red the tips of your ears must be by now.

"It's okay, love. You can try again, and again. As many times as you'd like."

[serpentinegraphite]

So, first off, this is not an attempt to kink shame (dubcon and noncon are great!) but I do keep seeing a thing in fics (I do NOT see this irl in kink spaces nearly as often) where like. A character will interrupt the flow of the scene to check consent

And I don't mean in an "are we still green?" Or "what's your color?" kind of way, but I mean. The author has tagged the fic and indicated via prose and/or author notes that they are doing their Due Diligence to make sure this fic is Righteously Consensual from top to bottom, No Question About It

And a character will ask for full sexual consent either directly or indirectly or renegotiate the boundaries of the kinks being practiced AFTER the sex acts have already begun.

Here's the thing: horny brain isn't great at making decisions! irl in kink spaces, there's often a lot of emphasis on negotiating BEFORE the scene begins, perhaps even with a space between negotiation and the scene if it's with a new/unfamiliar partner (maybe it's a few minutes while things are set up, maybe the partners negotiate a day or more in advance! It depends!), and not changing the parameters of the scene after someone is already horny or god forbid already in subspace.

Again, these are perfectly fine rules to break in fiction, when the author is aware of it (most characters are not going to be fully familiar with safe, sane, consensual practices and the traffic light system, nor would we want them to be!) but I'm increasingly finding fics where the author DOESN'T seem aware, which takes a normal fic (in-character, with reasonable but perhaps even somewhat dubious practices, which the author isn't emphasizing or preaching about) into Red Flag Territory (a character, OOC, yanking me out of the scene to behave like a PSA about consent instead of conforming to the horny tone of the scene, and perpetuating unsafe practices anyway)

If you are writing a master manipulator or someone who wants to have a gotcha, you totally said it was okay on a character they are trying to bone (which is well in the realm of non/dubcon) that's fine! This PSA is not aimed at you. But if you are trying to write someone who Cares Strongly About Consent, then perhaps be more aware of when is an appropriate time to escalate the situation (sexually speaking) or ask for consent!

[deus-ex-mona]

when the slowburn makes the ship extra cute~~~

[ilovefredjones]

i love you / i need to / who am i? / without you?

amanda row, star trek: strange new worlds / fizz, you, me, lonely

[markantonys]

also, i feel like the "rand's polycule feels like a harem, so the girls all need to date each other too in order for it to feel like polyamory" crowd isn't latching onto the right issue with the relationships/characters. because i won't deny that there is a harem-y element in the book version, but i DO deny that it comes from the simple fact that rand is dating 3 women who are each only dating him.

now, this is all down to personal interpretation, but i never got any harem-y vibes at all from elayne/rand & aviendha/rand. because here, we have one man with multiple girlfriends, yes, but the girlfriends are fully fleshed-out people with lives and obligations outside of him. in addition, elayne and aviendha have a good relationship with each other. of course, irl metamours don't have to be besties (although aviendha, specifically, does prefer to be close with her metamours than to be cordial acquaintances), but the utter lack of jealousy or competitiveness between them does a great deal to prevent any sort of "harem vibes" of a bunch of women fighting each other to be Top Concubine. i'll love for elayne and aviendha to date each other as well as rand in the show, but imo the relationships between the three of them already do feel like polyamory even when elayne and aviendha's relationship is platonic.

the issue is min - and the issue is NOT that min only has one partner while rand has multiple, the issue is that min doesn't have any connections or obligations outside of the relationship at all while rand has many. if the polycule feels like a harem, it's because min's entire character and pov sections revolve around pleasing rand. she DOES feel like someone who wants to be Top Concubine because her only long-term goal in the whole series is to make rand want her and to be near him 24/7 at the expense of any other friendships or responsibilities she might have, and because she's constantly going "ugh it's not FAIR that i have to share him" and "this sharing arrangement is all well and good as a temporary thing, but which one of us is he REALLY going to marry?" (again, she doesn't have to be besties with elayne and aviendha, but i'd hope she would at least feel comfortable with the arrangement and feel that it has long-term potential rather than expecting that A Choice is inevitable).

this bleeds into people's perception of the entire relationship, so you get takes like "it's so annoying that a ton of women are obsessing over rand 24/7" when it honestly is only min who does that; in their own povs, elayne and aviendha think about rand as often as you'd expect someone to think about their long-distance partner whom they miss and worry about, but nowhere close to 24/7 because they both have plenty of other relationships and responsibilities to occupy their thoughts, unlike min, who truly does obsess over rand 24/7.

so no, min doesn't need additional partners in the show to make the polycule feel like polyamory rather than a harem. she just needs a life outside rand! she just needs friends! and those friends don't even need to be elayne and aviendha; min being cordial acquaintances with her metamours would be totally fine as long as she a) is happy in the poly arrangement and respects their relationships with rand, and b) has other friends in, say, mat and nynaeve and whoever else, so that she has some connections outside of rand, the same way that HE has connections outside of HER. and the show is already making great strides towards this by giving her a friendship with mat, a family, a backstory, problems other than "i'm fated to love rand but idk if he likes me back", and goals other than "make rand like me back."

[chadsuke]

Books Read in 2024:

Little Mushroom: Judgement Day by Shisi (2022)

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2021)

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2022)

The Musician and the Monster by Jenya Keefe (2019)

A Deceptive Alliance by Sydney Blackburn (2018)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (2012)

Claimed by the Orc Prince by Lionel Hart (2022)

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon (2021)

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish Vol. 2 by Xue Shan Fei Hu (2024)

[ID: Covers of the aforementioned books. End ID.]