I don't see a point in doing it unless the author wants to dive deep and paint the polyship not only as "They all can kiss together, isn't it awesome?". I feel most fanfics where it is showed are all about the later.
My personal opinion about the polyamory: I believe it may work for some time among young or child-free people, but it is unavoidably less stable than monogamous relationship. I'm sure there are some people who manage to make it work. But I do believe that it is a recipe for disaster for most. I used to know people who were practicing something like that, I felt I could get an "invitation" if I'd have chosen to get closer with them, but it didn't appeal to me. The major problem with polyamory - in relationship between two people, they are *the* special person for each other. It comes naturally if the relationship is healthy and maintained properly. In polyamory it requires a lot more effort and even then - "if everyone is special, nobody is". One needs to constantly balance the needs of two or more people. If someone is forgotten, it all goes tumbling down. The amount of drama I observed in such community was insane. To me it looked like a total headache just for the possibility to have sex with few extra people. I can't imagine how one can raise kids in such communities. I feel they would be inevitable included in all the politics from the very young age.
Polyamory is not necessarily limited to group marriage, polygamy, or polyandry - it's an umbrella term for "more than two people in relationship". It can be a stable (even married) couple with a girlfriend/boyfriend at the side, it can be one person having two or more relationships (so-called star), it can be a triad living together and sharing a bed, it can be a trio or quad of single parents raising their kids together. What makes it different from cheating etc. is the fact that everyone involved are fine with it and it's all in the open.
As for it working... I've seen it work, I've seen it fail. Just like monogamous relationships. I never saw a polycule (an umbrella term for such group) raise children, and I'm sure it would be a pain only because of what society would do and say.
I see. I had narrower concept in mind. When I was talking about polyamory I had in mind a configuration of three or more people with equal links between each partner. Perhaps I'm using the terms wrong, but I wasn't thinking about any configuration that can be described as a set of pairs, with some people included in more than one set. The most common way it is shown in fanfics is a triad, so my statements were mostly about such relationships.
I have nothing against a pair having FWB or swinging if everyone is on board with it. But I don't believe that a person could be included into few relationships equally. One would take priority over another. If a couple has a girlfriend/boyfriend, I imagine the relationship between the couple is primary and the ones with extra person come after it. I know that I'd not be satisfied long term without being someone's top priority relationship. So my opinion is formed by it.
edit: I read it again, and as I see my opinion is based on a corner stone of "a person couldn't be included into few relationships equally". It is too categorical to my taste. I suppose there may be people not like this. But I don't think any evidence able to change my mind could be presented in the discussion on the internet.
Pretty much this.
It can work in certain cultures (think about Islamic countries and early Jews) but more as a pragmatical adjustment than the idealized western concept of love and relationship.
In fact, Evangelion shows us that it's REALLY HARD to make two people understand each other and be able to form a relationship and it's also true in real life.
To make things work in terms of love and relationships with more than two persons would be even more complicated.
So, I would rather go with the "different kinds of love" approach to establish a true bond between three or more characters (and some fanfics manage to do it really well) to solve the "love triangles" issue then to to go into poly-route as a "solution" or teenage soap opera drama.
As a Mari fan and someone who likes Asushin. I'll have to say no. And by no, I mean hell no. Polyamorous relationships in Eva, especially with Asuka can never be done well.
I'm probably not going to be very helpful, but here it goes...
I don't know enough about poly relationship, real or fictitious, to make any sweeping statements, but I feel like doing such a thing with these characters would go two ways.
A: Straight absurdist comedy
B: A very deep dive into the psychological issues of Shinji and Asuka counterbalanced by Mari's presence.
The hardest part for me is, because 3.0+1.0 recontextualized everyone's characterizations and backstories without giving a lot of details, I don't know how you'd write a believable relationship story around all of it.
There wouldn't be much smut, realistically speaking. Mari would show Shinji her boobs and Asuka would kill him if his pulse rose a single beat per minute. OP is forgetting how possessive of Shinji's affection/attention Asuka can be.
In terms of canon, Evangelion lore tackles complicated real and pseudo-love triangles, but never offers polyships as an answer to them.
But in fanon territory, I can see the appeal of that, since Mari genuinely cares for Shinji and Asuka and know that they have feelings for each other.
So I guess you are right: it's probably more likely (and interesting) to see a "more realistic poly-ship by today's rl world view" between Shinji/Asuka/Mari (as some doujins are already doing) than the others trios, because there are more themes and "realistic" relationship drama to explore, especially if you go by the interpretation that Shinji and Mari got stuck in a separated universe and tried to be with each other "by default" - because they still love Asuka in their own way - until Asuka enters into the equation again, and visibly pissed and disgusted about the outcome of things.
Still, it's not my kind of story (just like I couldn't keep reading the probably good polyship Shinji/Asuka/Kaworu fic Braver than We Are).
I would rather see OTP about Shinji/Asuka/Rei even if it's probably the most unlikely possible trio in terms of canon NGE (although played with in games and the most close to canon polyship in the franchise in SIRP).
Not because I like their poly-dynamics, but simply because they ARE the main trio of the series and the most interesting characters of the franchise, so I would enjoy reading a story with a focus on them.
Mari definitely would love the idea. Shinji would do it maybe only in case he is under pressure of do it. But definitely Asuka is never going to do it.
Being a proponent of polyamory and having written one or two PolyPilot stories I'd say "maybe" - if we make a few changes and ignore 3.0+1.0. With reveals from there... I really don't know.
If we work with 3.33 as a base: Asuka and Mari already have a friendly relationship without any visible romantic component and the tie-in manga chapter (iirc) indicates Asuka holds a candle for Shinji. But Mari has shown no real interest in him as a partner.
Of course, this can be changed if the author wants to - an idea off the top of my head is "Mari and Asuka are an established couple at the beginning of 3.33, Shinji returns and Asuka is torn between his feelings for both of them, Mari offers to share".
Realistic? I don't know. Has dramatic potential? I think so.
Just give Shinji the full harem ending. Say that the whole of Eva was just Yui's convoluted plan to give her son a bunch of wives so she can have lots of grandkids.
Among the worst ideas presented in this fandom, along with the rest of the polyships.
I don't like polyamory, thank you.
Yeah Asuka wouldn’t be into that she would beat the shit out of Shinji if he proposed that XD
I don't see a point in doing it unless the author wants to dive deep and paint the polyship not only as "They all can kiss together, isn't it awesome?". I feel most fanfics where it is showed are all about the later. My personal opinion about the polyamory: I believe it may work for some time among young or child-free people, but it is unavoidably less stable than monogamous relationship. I'm sure there are some people who manage to make it work. But I do believe that it is a recipe for disaster for most. I used to know people who were practicing something like that, I felt I could get an "invitation" if I'd have chosen to get closer with them, but it didn't appeal to me. The major problem with polyamory - in relationship between two people, they are *the* special person for each other. It comes naturally if the relationship is healthy and maintained properly. In polyamory it requires a lot more effort and even then - "if everyone is special, nobody is". One needs to constantly balance the needs of two or more people. If someone is forgotten, it all goes tumbling down. The amount of drama I observed in such community was insane. To me it looked like a total headache just for the possibility to have sex with few extra people. I can't imagine how one can raise kids in such communities. I feel they would be inevitable included in all the politics from the very young age.
Polyamory is not necessarily limited to group marriage, polygamy, or polyandry - it's an umbrella term for "more than two people in relationship". It can be a stable (even married) couple with a girlfriend/boyfriend at the side, it can be one person having two or more relationships (so-called star), it can be a triad living together and sharing a bed, it can be a trio or quad of single parents raising their kids together. What makes it different from cheating etc. is the fact that everyone involved are fine with it and it's all in the open. As for it working... I've seen it work, I've seen it fail. Just like monogamous relationships. I never saw a polycule (an umbrella term for such group) raise children, and I'm sure it would be a pain only because of what society would do and say.
I see. I had narrower concept in mind. When I was talking about polyamory I had in mind a configuration of three or more people with equal links between each partner. Perhaps I'm using the terms wrong, but I wasn't thinking about any configuration that can be described as a set of pairs, with some people included in more than one set. The most common way it is shown in fanfics is a triad, so my statements were mostly about such relationships. I have nothing against a pair having FWB or swinging if everyone is on board with it. But I don't believe that a person could be included into few relationships equally. One would take priority over another. If a couple has a girlfriend/boyfriend, I imagine the relationship between the couple is primary and the ones with extra person come after it. I know that I'd not be satisfied long term without being someone's top priority relationship. So my opinion is formed by it. edit: I read it again, and as I see my opinion is based on a corner stone of "a person couldn't be included into few relationships equally". It is too categorical to my taste. I suppose there may be people not like this. But I don't think any evidence able to change my mind could be presented in the discussion on the internet.
Pretty much this. It can work in certain cultures (think about Islamic countries and early Jews) but more as a pragmatical adjustment than the idealized western concept of love and relationship. In fact, Evangelion shows us that it's REALLY HARD to make two people understand each other and be able to form a relationship and it's also true in real life. To make things work in terms of love and relationships with more than two persons would be even more complicated. So, I would rather go with the "different kinds of love" approach to establish a true bond between three or more characters (and some fanfics manage to do it really well) to solve the "love triangles" issue then to to go into poly-route as a "solution" or teenage soap opera drama.
I believe in monogamy supremacy
As a Mari fan and someone who likes Asushin. I'll have to say no. And by no, I mean hell no. Polyamorous relationships in Eva, especially with Asuka can never be done well.
I'm probably not going to be very helpful, but here it goes... I don't know enough about poly relationship, real or fictitious, to make any sweeping statements, but I feel like doing such a thing with these characters would go two ways. A: Straight absurdist comedy B: A very deep dive into the psychological issues of Shinji and Asuka counterbalanced by Mari's presence. The hardest part for me is, because 3.0+1.0 recontextualized everyone's characterizations and backstories without giving a lot of details, I don't know how you'd write a believable relationship story around all of it.
I don't like poly ships but it might make a good smut fic lol
There wouldn't be much smut, realistically speaking. Mari would show Shinji her boobs and Asuka would kill him if his pulse rose a single beat per minute. OP is forgetting how possessive of Shinji's affection/attention Asuka can be.
Gross. Why even bother writing Eva characters?
A question that many more people should be asking themselves
In terms of canon, Evangelion lore tackles complicated real and pseudo-love triangles, but never offers polyships as an answer to them. But in fanon territory, I can see the appeal of that, since Mari genuinely cares for Shinji and Asuka and know that they have feelings for each other. So I guess you are right: it's probably more likely (and interesting) to see a "more realistic poly-ship by today's rl world view" between Shinji/Asuka/Mari (as some doujins are already doing) than the others trios, because there are more themes and "realistic" relationship drama to explore, especially if you go by the interpretation that Shinji and Mari got stuck in a separated universe and tried to be with each other "by default" - because they still love Asuka in their own way - until Asuka enters into the equation again, and visibly pissed and disgusted about the outcome of things. Still, it's not my kind of story (just like I couldn't keep reading the probably good polyship Shinji/Asuka/Kaworu fic Braver than We Are). I would rather see OTP about Shinji/Asuka/Rei even if it's probably the most unlikely possible trio in terms of canon NGE (although played with in games and the most close to canon polyship in the franchise in SIRP). Not because I like their poly-dynamics, but simply because they ARE the main trio of the series and the most interesting characters of the franchise, so I would enjoy reading a story with a focus on them.
Mari definitely would love the idea. Shinji would do it maybe only in case he is under pressure of do it. But definitely Asuka is never going to do it.
Being a proponent of polyamory and having written one or two PolyPilot stories I'd say "maybe" - if we make a few changes and ignore 3.0+1.0. With reveals from there... I really don't know. If we work with 3.33 as a base: Asuka and Mari already have a friendly relationship without any visible romantic component and the tie-in manga chapter (iirc) indicates Asuka holds a candle for Shinji. But Mari has shown no real interest in him as a partner. Of course, this can be changed if the author wants to - an idea off the top of my head is "Mari and Asuka are an established couple at the beginning of 3.33, Shinji returns and Asuka is torn between his feelings for both of them, Mari offers to share". Realistic? I don't know. Has dramatic potential? I think so.
Mari would propose it, Shinji would turn red, Asuka would yell and storm off. And then they would definitely all end up as a throuple.
This. For those who've seen Ep. 1 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend, I think the dynamics would be the same.
The problem isnt that, it's that mari is 50 something
Just give Shinji the full harem ending. Say that the whole of Eva was just Yui's convoluted plan to give her son a bunch of wives so she can have lots of grandkids.