Character help

[Amaterasu34]

Hello hello! I was hoping someone could give advice about writing a budding relationship between a throuple.

So a bit of backstory…my characters are dragons and they can assume human forms. So the couple, Mithra and Kaladion have been together for well over 400 years give or take. Mithra is bisexual and she found herself entranced by another female dragon, Amalina. So I imagine it was a slow build up for her feelings to grow, but she also talked to Kal about it, and he was a bit annoyed, but a tiny bit whatever about it, thinking it would fizzle out.

So it clearly doesn’t lol and he’s fine with it but my question is….how do I portray this conversation between Kal and Mithra? What is the proper way to bring a third person into their relationship?

Also…Mithra eventually convinces Kal to talk to her and get to know her, and he falls for her too lol. She is a cinnamon roll after all

I just want it to be authentic and real and not forced

Also sorry if this isn’t the correct place to ask this I’m new to this site

 

[Queshire]

Well one of the benefits of them being together for 400 years is that you can have the bulk of the conversation take place off screen with the implication that it took place somewhere over the course of those 400 years. Maybe Mithra had others she was interested in before but they never amounted to much more than brief flings? Maybe Kal has before now and again?

With that foundation established it could be as simple as Mithra letting Kal know she's interested in Amalina and that past experience could explain why Kal thought it would just fizzle out.

 

[Stepgingerly]

I would think that a conversation of that nature would be completely authentic in its awkwardness. What that looks like would depend on the personalities involved.

 

[BearBear]

That sounds like a fun conversation, considering it's an excellent hetero male fantasy. In practice it's likely not as fun but that too is fun to discover and discuss. Especially fun when she leaves him for her new homo fun.

It might also be fun to research, maybe there's an interview with thruples that aren't just publicity seeking. Like maybe a thruple that has been together for more than six months, good luck.

From someone who's only ever tried to juggle in an uncommitted way that ended up not getting very deep with anyone (no need to guess why), I don't see how it's possible without hurting someone and that someone was almost surely me every time. I still have nightmares.

 

[Amaterasu34]

Well one of the benefits of them being together for 400 years is that you can have the bulk of the conversation take place off screen with the implication that it took place somewhere over the course of those 400 years. Maybe Mithra had others she was interested in before but they never amounted to much more than brief flings? Maybe Kal has before now and again?

With that foundation established it could be as simple as Mithra letting Kal know she's interested in Amalina and that past experience could explain why Kal thought it would just fizzle out.

So you think a conversation is all it would take? This is a good take honestly. I’ve never written something like this so I want to be as careful and gracious with it like anything else. I would hate for people to think I’m doing this for other reasons other than wholesomeness

I just imagine it would be tough to write because Kal comes off as the quiet and stern one. I really want to take his feelings into account since it will bother him eventually. You are right in that Mithra has been interested in others, but Kal hasn’t. He is a one dragon guy, well at the moment.

I just want to accurately portray his turning point and when he warms up to Amalina.

 

[Queshire]

Mmm... I don't have any personal experience, but I think the emotions involved are understandable if you set aside any preconceptions.

For Kal it might be something along the lines of being happy that Mithra is happy, though being wary about someone new getting close to someone you care about is hardly an unusual feeling either. That said, I have had experiences where I've given something a try that I was initially against because one of my friends was fond of it, though that was with a video game and not a relationship. Eh, all a matter of scale.

As for Mithra I don't think it would be too unusual to love different things for different qualities but with equal intensity. I mean, maybe some days you want to relax after a hard day work with a relaxing farming sim video game and other days relaxing after work means gunning down hordes of demons or zombies.

 

[Finchbearer]

I always imagine that when you have the ability to live for more than 100 years you would likely know what you want and how to communicate that by that point in time, but then again maybe not…or perhaps you’d get bored of just the same old thing. Perhaps this is an element you’d need to keep in mind.

At any rate, the emotions at play might be jealousy and a sense of betrayal, but also curiosity, so ask yourself how could you add those emotions to the conversation.

 

[Queshire]

Mmm... if it's a sense of betrayal at play then I think it would have to specifically be a sense of betrayal in spite of himself such as might arrise if he initially said he was fine with it but later found out he still felt betrayed. If it's a regular sense of betrayal then that means the two of them have gone past the point where they really needed to sit down and have a heart to heart.

 

[Prince of Spires]

What are the cultural norms for your dragons?

How do immortal beings (or close enough if they're together 400 years) view monogamie? I can imagine that if you live that long you take a very different view to it than in human relationships. Perhaps a fling is a perfectly acceptable thing to have. Or perhaps it's viewed as the greatest betrayal you can have.

And how about a relationship between 2 women? Again, how normal is that?

The answer to those two questions will lead to very different situations. For instance, in a deeply religious christian family, this talk would be very difficult to have and it will likely lead to a very heated argument, with neither side being happy with the outcome. It will take very careful setup on the part of the woman, and will probably still spiral out of control.

On the other hand, in a society where both of these are perfectly acceptible, the discussion could be something you have over breakfast "You know Amalina, the girl from over by the mountaintop ruin? I fancy her and want to spend a bit of time with her." "She's a lovely choice for an adventure. Have fun." That sort of thing.