know of any shows with positive poly representation? everything I've seen either kills a part of the polycule, or they break up and the two with the most chemistry end up together in the end

i dont watch a lot of shows, but here's what i learned from running this:

the main one that has been recommended here by other followers is Leverage, the polycule even won the first showdown! from my understanding, in the original show they werent able to make it explicitly canon but the writers confirmed it's a polycule, and people mentioned a newer version but i know less about that.

the polycule from The Expanse just got second place in the canon showdown! so thats another one

I was told Siren is good but to not watch season 2 iirc cause thats where they do exactly what u dont wanna see (end the polycule in favor of a couple) but alot of Leverage fans recommended that one as well

Sens8 has one canon polycule and one trio that can also be interpreted as one, but arent confirmed canon. The canon polycule had to be rushed because netflix cancelled the show, but i hear its still v good!

If you count podcasts as shows, Penumbra Podcast Second Citadel has also been highly recommended and ive heard amazing things about the polycule in that one!

And idk if you only mean live action but if you include cartoons, there's Amphibia! How canon it is has been oftenly debated in my notes so i cant advocate much but a lot of ppl seem to feel like the show heavily supports that as a possible direction for the relationship of the protagonists?

those are the ones i can remember right now, im sure if you keep an eye on the notes to this ask there will probably be other recommendations! i also have the tag #polyam rep (which ill add to this ask since tumblr's search function likes to act up) with lots of recommendations by many different people, not all of them are tv shows, i think most are books? but still worth it to check it out imo

the only media with canon polycules i personally consumed have been two webcomics (Charity Case and Shootaround), one book (Iron Widow), and a game (Hades), also a spanish movie i watched before i knew what a polycule was and idk its name :( so yeah unfortunately i dont have too many personal recs, and none for shows, but i hope you find smth in the replies or in the polyam rep tag!

I can't stop thinking this every time I watch the show

"bisexuals winning with Hades 2" yes excellent! But! I also really really hope aromantics keep winning too!!! I'm begging supergiant to have aromantic characters in Hades 2, Dusa still means so much to me. Aro characters are so so rare, it was so meaningful seeing her included along with all the other queer characters in the first game. And Dusa being aromantic was a really well articulated and genuine part of her story (even if I wish the platonic love she and Zag share had been developed further).

I just really hope supergiant doesn't feel like "welp we had an aro character, great job everyone, no need to do that ever again!" There's so much more to be explored and it's so valuable, aro people exist and it's fantastic to see that reflected in media!!!

thinking about her

(and about the fact su really went there and had a polyamorous character when hardly any media even acknowledges we exist)

this was basically season 2 of the penumbra podcast second citadel right

can shows just.. stick with a polyamorous character and not make them like… doing it outta convenience?? or make them cruel or evil?? or make them change their mind once they ‘meet the right person’?? cos it’s fucking exhausting. and we don’t get great (or tbh really any) representation as it is and it fucking sucks.

Happy pride month

Final Fantasy XV 🤝 Disney Descendants

Media that to this day randomly makes me furious when I remember they do not end in a polyamorous OT4

Yo I need to find some good books with actual polyam rep~

Like. Ideally a good contemporary book where the main character is just. Going about their lives but also you get to see them interact with all their partners.

Or even their partners get mentioned a couple times? And it’s. There that they are polyam and they *do* have partners or go on dates with potential partners and other polyam things?

Idk. It sounds nice bc I don’t see a lot of positive polyam rep out there.

oh also shoutout to iwatex for having dating/relationship routes with an ace character and an aro character.

(@leverage-ot3 here, again)

so for canon polycules i know they won’t win but polymarine from freeform’s siren meant so much to me for so long until season 3 broke them up bc the network listened to homophobes

LOOK AT THIS MERMAID AND HER TWO MARINE BIOLOGIST LOVERS

they are the reason I actually ended up watching leverage when I was looking for more poly rep after the show was cancelled

YALL HOW MANY POLYAM TV SHOWS ARE THERE I NEVER KNEW ABOUT ANY OF THESE

Actually Quackity winning would be funny as shit because Joe is out here posting shirtless selfies and videos and actively campaigning to win this thing while Quackity didn’t even know it was going on like I want him to win without even knowing it’s happening

I finally got around to reading iron widow and it was awesome

The fact that Trailer Park Boys has some of the only good non-monogamous rep I've seen is deeply worrying lol

Songs of the Summer, 2023: #13

[intro & rules]

Touching Yourself by The Japanese House (June 30, 2023)

i used to cry about her on laundry days  maybe because i had too much time to think, then on those open-window, hanging-sheets afternoons once a week, i would notice the breeze gently pushing me to move on tea in the microwave and half-a-tomato on the cutting board, i find time to think   we should buy a coatrack, or maybe wall hangers, and a weighted blanket—sage green? 

--

Yeah, I admit it, I don’t mind when The Japanese House is boring. I mean, “Something Has to Change” is still one of my favorite songs of hers, and it’s just as simple and repetitive as “Touching Yourself” is. I could have put “Sunshine Baby” or “Morning Pages” in this spot on this list—they have these beautifully immersive lyrics that I could analyze for forever—but when it comes down to it, this one, the boring one, is my favorite.

I guess it's actually easiest to talk about "Touching Yourself" in the context of my love for "Something Has to Change". To be fair, it's not quite as ethereally beautiful as its predecessor (if it were, it would be in the top 5 of this list), but “Touching Yourself” has a similar magic. What I love about “Something Has to Change” is that it’s a mantra of sorts—the simplicity & repetition of the lyrics, and of the light, pleasant groove that backs them, manages to capture so much anger and frustration and desperation and strength and determination, too, and channel all those feelings into a speech that, as I sing along, I feel like I’m giving myself (and boy did I need that speech, back when I first stumbled across the song). I love its directness, especially compared to the rest of The Japanese House’s discography, as her music tends to be melty-sounding and uncertain in vocals and lyrics and production, too. That isn’t a bad thing—I love so many of her songs—but “Something Has to Change” has been a standout to me for as long as I’ve been a fan, and I like the way "Touching Yourself" follows in its footsteps.

Even compared to "Something Has to Change", Amber Bain's performance in this new track feels unusually direct, simple and sweet and genuine, like I'm listening to singer at a coffee shop or on a park bench. That lack of mystery is unexpected, but it's quite charming, too. And “Touching Yourself” has its own mantra; it caught me on first listen and brings me back again and again: “Know I shouldn’t need it but I want affection / Know I shouldn’t want it but I need attention / Know I shouldn’t say it but I had to mention…”. It’s not a statement of determination to do the right thing, to be kind to yourself for once, like in “Something Has to Change”; instead, it’s just an expression of gloomy anger channeled into a satisfying rhythm. Can you fix your problem, claw your way out of this depression? Hell if I know, but at least you can enjoy this little tongue-twister of a bridge while you wait for answers.

“Touching Yourself” is tired, and resigned, and weird, and fun—and after spending most of the summer listening to “Dionne” and “Sunshine Baby”, which are also tired and resigned and weird but most certainly not fun, “Touching Yourself”, with its awkward, even comedic, sci-fi-sounding synth and general lack of subtlety, became a late-summer classic. It’s a sing-along anthem for three in the afternoon, and since my summer felt like one giant late-afternoon daze, including it here just feels right.

Okay, Riverdale was a super weird show.

But ending on polyam Archie/Veronica/Betty/Jughead....

well it's not exactly my ship (since Jughead is aroace in the comics) but hell, it's still really close lol

(my ship being Archie/Betty/Veronica throuple and Jughead being a part of the polycule but not actually dating anyone, technically, but honestly if the four want they could consider Jughead part of the quad instead, who cares, sometimes polyamory has zero sex or romance)

idk I didn't watch the show. I just wanna be happy about a mainstream (?) show ending with polyamory.