Yep, this is exactly it. Practice safe sex, get on PrEP for HIV prevention, talk about testing and status with any potential sexual partners in or out of the polycule, and get tested every 3-6 months.

There are a lot of different types of poly relationship structures and different names for them. The base unit of relationship is a standard couple where 2 people are together. Add another person in and they can either be in a relationship with only one of those people and form a “hinge” aka “V” or be in a relationship with both of those people and form a “triad” aka “throuple”. As many people as those involved consent to can be added this way.

Most of the time it’s one person who is in a relationship with multiple people who are each in relationships with multiple people. This forms a “polycule”. Where you have the people you’re in relationships with aka your “paramours” and they have the people they’re in relationships with aka your “metamours”. This group of relationships can take many forms and can be drawn out into a cool diagram like a molecule, hence the name polycule.

The people you’re in a relationship with can break up with you like in any other relationship and vice versa. It’s more complicated when you add in housing situations if you’re all living together, multiple people are all dating each other, or if two people are married.

Using one of my breakups as an example:
I’ve been in a triad where one person broke up with the other. I was then put in the middle of their breakup drama. I set a boundary of not wanting to deal with their drama/shit talking of the other. One of them kept breaking that boundary, so I broke up with that person while still being in a relationship with the other. Luckily I was living with the person I stayed with or that would’ve been way more complicated.

During hostile ignorance:

• I had to leave the state I grew up in to get into a place I could access medical care, get away from an unaccepting family, and get into a place I wasn’t afraid of being attacked while transitioning (being visibly trans till HRT kicked in).
• Trans panic was seen as more of a valid defence back then for killing trans people.
• I think we were seen as more of a curiosity/fetish than people, but that’s debatable since that’s definitely still an issue.
• People were more afraid of being visibly trans and finding community outside of forums was harder.
• I was certain I’d lose my job when I inevitably had to come out and had prepared for it by saving up enough to get me through finding another job. I was amazed when that didn’t happen and most of the company accepted me. I still had to deal with harassment that nowadays would probably get those people fired.

During hostile attention:

• I had to leave my home due to the state no longer ignoring us and focusing on passing laws to make our lives more difficult.
• I know a ton of trans people and have a stronger support network. Finding others is easier now.
• Medical care is easier to get now if you aren’t living in one of the states currently trying to ban HRT.
• Parents seem a little more accepting but it’s still divisive
• I’m less afraid of the average person fucking with me in most areas of the US
• I’m afraid of government attempts to round myself or loved ones up into camps within the next few years.

Generally, I prefer the visibility and broader social acceptance we have now. More people know about us, so more people hate us but way more people accept us. I see it as how being gay was in the aughts. More people were out and it was less of a big deal even though there was still a lot of hate crimes against gay people. Now it’s way more accepted outside of ultra conservative areas. I’m hoping we are more accepted within a decade instead of being rounded up and killed en masse.