AnnabelMore
Active member
I have a thing for happy couples; there's no denying it. I am in no way a couple-hunting would-be-unicorn. I'm well aware that relationships form between individuals, not between a person and a structure ("the couple"), and that angling for any particular configuration to emerge from a given multi-person attraction is folly. But I do get couple-crushes that are as much about the relationship and the unit as they are about the individuals involved, truth be told.
I love seeing the different ways that people build successful interpersonal dynamics. I love observing the cocoon, the pocket universe that dyads create within themselves.
And the hotness-- yow. The looks that couples that are really in sync and in love and in lust give each other, the way they touch, the ease, getting to watch that is just awesome. And getting to participate in it... I just don't have words... it's intense!
Exploring an individual can be as powerful, deep and meaningful as can be, of course. There's no replacing that, if you want to build deep connections. But getting to slide into the established sexual and relational patterns of a couple, that experience of being surrounded, I could just die. Love it. I've never been on the other side of the equation, part of a couple inviting in a third person. Maybe I'd like it very much, but in the abstract, it doesn't hold the same visceral appeal to me.
I wonder if it's laziness, in part. Wanting to enjoy the unique flavor of the bond that comes from deep understanding and intimacy without putting in the hard, scary work of building that myself. I don't know, maybe it *is* a little lazy, or a little greedy.
But on the other hand, it's not like I've never put in the time myself before. I had a primary, cohabiting partnership of 3 years that I worked hard at, and it's not like I delude myself into thinking that I'm actually entitled to access the same level of intimacy and bond with a couple as what they share between themselves, just because they let me in for a little while. That sort of thing has to be earned, and it won't necessarily happen equally with both members.
It's a huge trust, a huge gift, to get to snuggle into a shape that's been made for you between two people who love each other very much. But I know better than to accept any declarations of "equality" in that sort of situation. There is an inherent power imbalance when you're coming in from the outside. You simply can't, on a very important level, make up for years of intimate association with pure passion. Though, to be fair to those I've seen who have done a good job with it, if all three partners are committed, you can try to get to a place of actual equality, and quite possibly accelerate the process.
I'm curious-- does anyone else relate to this at all? Any thoughts about individual people engaging with both halves of a couple, beyond the usual, "We want a gf who'll love us both equally, be exclusive with us, move in right away," versus, "Ugh, please go away, unicorn hunters, GO AWAY," debate?
I love seeing the different ways that people build successful interpersonal dynamics. I love observing the cocoon, the pocket universe that dyads create within themselves.
And the hotness-- yow. The looks that couples that are really in sync and in love and in lust give each other, the way they touch, the ease, getting to watch that is just awesome. And getting to participate in it... I just don't have words... it's intense!
Exploring an individual can be as powerful, deep and meaningful as can be, of course. There's no replacing that, if you want to build deep connections. But getting to slide into the established sexual and relational patterns of a couple, that experience of being surrounded, I could just die. Love it. I've never been on the other side of the equation, part of a couple inviting in a third person. Maybe I'd like it very much, but in the abstract, it doesn't hold the same visceral appeal to me.
I wonder if it's laziness, in part. Wanting to enjoy the unique flavor of the bond that comes from deep understanding and intimacy without putting in the hard, scary work of building that myself. I don't know, maybe it *is* a little lazy, or a little greedy.
But on the other hand, it's not like I've never put in the time myself before. I had a primary, cohabiting partnership of 3 years that I worked hard at, and it's not like I delude myself into thinking that I'm actually entitled to access the same level of intimacy and bond with a couple as what they share between themselves, just because they let me in for a little while. That sort of thing has to be earned, and it won't necessarily happen equally with both members.
It's a huge trust, a huge gift, to get to snuggle into a shape that's been made for you between two people who love each other very much. But I know better than to accept any declarations of "equality" in that sort of situation. There is an inherent power imbalance when you're coming in from the outside. You simply can't, on a very important level, make up for years of intimate association with pure passion. Though, to be fair to those I've seen who have done a good job with it, if all three partners are committed, you can try to get to a place of actual equality, and quite possibly accelerate the process.
I'm curious-- does anyone else relate to this at all? Any thoughts about individual people engaging with both halves of a couple, beyond the usual, "We want a gf who'll love us both equally, be exclusive with us, move in right away," versus, "Ugh, please go away, unicorn hunters, GO AWAY," debate?
