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When it comes to fandom, there are so many fun aspects to take part in. For some people, contributing fan works (GIF sets, fan art, photo edits, aesthetic sets, fanfics, etc.) are their favorite part. For others, their favorite part is building meaningful relationships with other people within the fandom. Though, for me, my favorite part about fandom is shipping, or more specifically poly ships.
Shipping poly ships in fandom is such an absolute delight for me because I am such a huge multishipper. I love seeing all the different potential relationships, whether they be platonic, romantic, or sexual, that could form within a world’s universe (or multi-verses in some cases).
What Are Poly Ships?
In simple terms, poly ships are relationships that involve multiple people. When it comes to poly ships, there are different types of configurations. An important thing to note though is that the definitions below are not an exhaustive list, they are just the three most common forms of poly ships within fandom.
- Vee/V: Vee or V relationships are one type of poly ships that involve three people. In this relationship, one partner is dating two people. Meanwhile, the other two partners in the relationship are not romantically or sexually involved with each other.
- Triad: A triad relationship is a poly ship that involves three people. In this relationship, all three partners are romantically and/or sexually involved.
- Quad: A quad relationship is a poly ship that involves four people that are connected with each other in some form, whether it be romantic or sexual. For this type of poly relationship, there can be many different forms. For example, Person A could be involved with Person B, Person B is involved with Person C, Person C is also involved with Person D. In this case, Person A and Person C are not involved with each other and neither are Person B and Person D. Another example of quad relationship would be that all four partners are romantically and/or sexually involved.
Three Poly Ships In Media
Unfortunately, there is a lack of poly ship representation within Hollywood. Scholars have speculated on certain reasons for why there is that absence in Western media, however, the exact reason(s) for why there is a lack of representation is still unknown. Despite the lack of poly representation, there still are some instances in which poly ships have been shown.
David/Stevie/Jake (Schitt’s Creek)
In the first episode of season three of the popular Canadian television show Schitt’s Creek, David (Dan Levy) and Stevie (Emily Hampshire) have come to learn that they are in a poly relationship with Jake (Steve Lund). However, the downside to this representation is that neither David nor Stevie knew that they were dating Jake simultaneously. Though, when David and Stevie confronted Jake on their relationship, it became clear that the former weren’t uncomfortable with the fact that they were in a poly relationship, rather their relationship wasn’t clarified between all three of them. By the end of the episode, the three enter a V relationship.
Although, by episode two of season three it becomes clear that neither David nor Stevie are comfortable, despite them claiming so, with the idea of being in a V relationship. As a way to fix things, Jake suggests that the three of them turn their V relationship into a triad, which David and Stevie don’t agree with. By the end of the episode, the three decided to end their poly relationship.
Fred/Carrie/Alexandra (Portlandia)
Near the end of season three of Portlandia, Fred (Fred Armisen), Carrie (Carrie Brownstein) begin to date their roommate Alexandra (Cholë Sevigny). Unlike in Schitt’s Creek, Fred and Carrie are actually okay with them simultaneously dating Alexandra.
Due to the fact that Portlandia is a sketch comedy, viewers aren’t able to see the relationship to develop. So, viewers are only able to see the three of them in a V relationship in the episode titled “Alexandra.” In the episode succeeding, however, Alexandra actually ends up breaking up with Carrie because Alexandra felt that Carrie was too good for her. Thus, ending their poly relationship.
Jack/Emma/Izzy (You Me Her)
While Schitt’s Creek and Portlandia showcase short-lived poly ships, there are a few hidden gems in Western media that do focus on poly relationships. One of these gems is the American-Canadian show You Me Her, which has five seasons.
When You Me Her first began, viewers were able to see a thirty-something couple Jack (Greg Poehler) and Emma (Rachel Blanchard) have a lack of sex drive in their relationship. Soon enough, Jack decides to solve their problem by hiring Izzy (Priscilla Faia) a 25-year-old college student and a part-time escort. Eventually, the three adults end up falling in love with one another, which leads to Jack and Emma bringing Izzy into their relationship. Since their relationship is taboo to most, the show focuses on how the three adults have to navigate their poly relationship with the various challenges that arise.
Three Of My Favorite Poly Ships
Even though there aren’t that many canon poly ships, there still are tons of poly ships that people can enjoy. In fact, after a quick check on the polyamory tag on AO3, there are (as of the time this article was written) about sixty-five thousand five hundred fanfics that involve poly ships. It just goes to show that while Hollywood isn’t quite as ready to showcase poly representation, the fandom world is.
Typically, I would give a breakdown of my top three or top five ships, but I soon realized that most of my top favorite poly ships come from the same fandom. So, in order to give some variety, I’ll be discussing three different poly ships from three different fandoms.
Harry/Hermione/Ron (Harry Potter)
While J.K. Rowling is controversial, there is no denying that Rowling gave the world a memorable fictional universe that captivated many for a long time. Within that universe, Rowling gave us Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald “Ron” Weasley, or as the fandom likes to call them, The Golden Trio.
This is a poly ship that I recently just got into. I’m not going to lie, when I first heard about this ship, I didn’t really understand the appeal of it. However, I decided to watch a compilation video of The Golden Trio (shown below) from the films. From that point, I started thinking about them as a poly ship and I decided to look at fan art. Finally, my shipper brain went, “Ya know, they would be really cute together.”
Tommy/Kim/Kat (Power Rangers)
When it comes to Power Ranger ships, I feel as if there’s only one right answer when talking to a lot of original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fans: It’s either Tommy/Kim or Tommy/Kat. The Tommy/Kim versus Tommy/Kat debate is probably the most well-known ship war within the Power Rangers fandom. On one hand, I can understand since I did partake in loving one ship more than the other when I was younger, but now I believe that having a ship war mentality takes away the fun of shipping in a fandom. I think that instead of spending so much time and energy on something negative, people should open their minds up to the idea of a poly ship.
While I personally love the idea of a triad poly ship between these three Rangers, Tommy, Kim, and Kat would also be the perfect three people for a V relationship. To those who are wary of that idea just picture this scenario in an alternate universe of Power Rangers (Zeo Era): Tommy and Kat are together, but Kim comes back home. Kim’s return to Angel Grove starts to shake things up in Tommy and Kat’s relationship. Though, once Kim learns that Tommy and Kat are together she distances herself, out of respect for the couple, so they could be happy.
However, Tommy realizes that despite the Dear John letter Kim sent him, he’s still in love with her, but still has feelings for Kat. So, Tommy talks to the two girls and the idea of poly relationship comes up. They then all decide to try a V relationship (which may end up into a triad later down the road), and they all live happily ever after. Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s a fanfic alternative universe I would to read about.
Bucky/Tony/Rhodey/Sam (Marvel)
Out of all of the poly ships, Bucky/Tony/Rhodey/Sam, or WinterIronFalconWar as I call them, is my all time favorite poly ship. Any combination of these four together, whether it be IronFalcon (Tony/Sam) or WinterFalconWar (Bucky/Sam/Rhodey), is just so good. I’ve been shipping these four together for a little over a year now, and I’m forever glad that I jumped onto this ship. Out of all the MCU, or just Marvel in general, ships, I’m genuinely surprised that not a lot of people have even considered this ship.
The dynamic between these four, with all the snark, protectiveness, and intelligence, is just perfection to me. Personally, the fun of this ship is the different outcomes you can possibly get. For example, I think that WinterFalcon (Bucky/Sam) and IronHusbands (Tony/Rhodey) are such chaotic duos on their own, but if you put the four of them in a quad, they could create mass chaos together. Another possible outcome is that their respective chaos would end up balancing each other out; thus, having a quad ship that would call each other out on their own stupidity. Though, the only real downside to this ship is that there is barely any content about the four together.
The Future Of Poly Ships In Fandom And Media
When it comes to fandom, there is no doubt in my mind that poly ships will still remain to be heavily featured within fan made content. However, when it comes to media, there is unfortunately still a large absence of canon poly ships. While there is a small handful of portrayals of poly relationships, like You Me Her, Hollywood still has a long road to go before giving poly ships the representation it deserves. Hopefully, with many fan made content portraying poly ships, Hollywood executives and writers will start to include poly ships in their works.