Too bad I hate writing them!
I mostly prefer monogamous RO but I don’t mind doing a poly route if I feel all parties involved, at the beginning of the story, are emotionally and physically at the same level with each other. I know I’m explaining this very badly so let me give an example, the JR poly in the Fernweh Saga. J and R aren’t together, have never been together and haven’t confessed their feelings for each other, same for the MC. The MC is the one that makes everyone realize these mutual feelings. So it’s a mutual journey where the MC isn’t ’interfering’ in an established relationship.
I’ve tried giving the G/V poly in Infamous a go but I can’t shake the feeling the MC is just there to spice up a broken marriage. I’ll be playing a homewrecker though because I like G as a character and this is the first game that allows me to do it, I don’t generally like cheating but it seems that’s the only way to go about this route (unless G has an arc like V where they’re the one breaking off the marriage).
So when it comes to poly, when there’s too much history between the RO of said poly I just feel like the MC is intruding and those RO will never care for the MC as much as they care for each other.
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Whaaat?That’s new knowledge to me, but if it’s the case that poly is now ruined for me 
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I don’t think this is correct, I don’t remember any info about them having relationship in the past. The only thing I remember is author saying on this forum that J and R wouldn’t start dating each other without MC’s involvement, which doesn’t make sense if they were exes.
@OddCatGuy @notapretzel
Edit: Here are quotes from this post:
MC is the missing piece of the puzzle that actually helps the other two gradually start to realize that there could be something more there between the three of them
I would find it hard to imagine JR coming about without the MC’s return to Fernweh that pushes them to look behind their typical preconceptions and interactions with each other thanks to someone familiar yet new who shakes things up.
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Really? Then I may be misinformed. Maybe I need to replay it again cuz I don’t touch them for how many months.
That’s the knowledge I have and the reason I enjoy it so much. I see the three of them as being soulmates, both J and R with their past with the MC, them grieving in different ways when the MC left, and now that the MC is back reconnecting and exploring those feelings. There so much history and love between them that the poly just makes sense imo.
Thank you for quoting the posts.
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I don’t mind if RO is in love with someone else later in the game when I don’t romance this RO. But I don’t like when game has three or more male RO and all of them (if not romanced) end up with women. It’s hard for me to believe in their bisexuality, more like their romance with my male MC was some bug, especially when game doesn’t unknowledge that it is a same-sex relationship.
As for poly question. I’m strictly monogamous in real life but I don’t self-insert. So my MC can romance several RO simultaneously, it’s a good tactic when I’m not sure whom to choose at the beginning. I would like to try a poly route if I can find one where I’m interested in both RO. But it should be initiated by MC. I won’t romance RO who is already in relationship (including friends with benefits) and/or who proposes poly. I’ve tried one demo where MC talks to his friend about romantic feelings and friend says “I like you and I also like our other friend, let’s bring her in if you’re ok with that”. Nope, after that I won’t romance this character (even if he agrees to monogamous relationship he clearly has feeling for another) or play this game (because he was the only RO I was interested in).
Oh, and I have some perverse pleasure playing MC in the arranged marriage and cheating on the spouse.
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That’s sad, like really, really sad. That just sound like the ro are just bi-curious, they need a description on their character bio that they’re bi guys who leans more into women and never had any relationship with a guy to save the reader that into same sex from confusion and disappointment. Just my opinion, others may have a different idea about it. 
Edit: forgot to add, cheat on arranged marriage if the spouse is an asshole are the only reason I will cheat, if the spouse is an understanding person or generally just a nice person then I’d have to make them fall in love with my mc. 
I wondered - does this include characters who bring it up after the PC has been flirty/romantic with both characters? That’s how I’ve generally written it, figuring that players who have indicated that they have some sort of more-than-friendly feelings towards both characters would be more OK with one of the characters mentioning it. Also, it seems weird for a character not to mention it if they would be into being polyamorous and are seeing the MC being romantic/flirty with both!
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No, if MC flirted with both then I don’t have problems when one of them brings up poly option. I consider that MC already initiated it by showing interest. It is when MC flirted only with one RO but this RO proposes poly then I won’t romance this RO. Like when I’m playing srictly monogamous route I don’t want any mentions that this RO can be into poly in this playthrough.
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So if the RO mentioned they wouldn’t mind if you dated other people while being with them (without you showing interest in other characters), although they’re not going to, you wouldn’t romance them? Did I understand correctly?
Well, it is more about when RO say that they would like to romance another character besides MC if MC doesn’t mind. This is a deal breaker. But now that you’ve mentioned it, yes, if MC is romantically involved with RO (and didn’t show interest in anyone else) and that RO say that it is ok for MC to date other people then I wouldn’t romance them. I see it like they are not really into MC and don’t trust MC’s desicion to be with them. On the other hand I hate possesive RO because I feel like they also don’t trust MC.
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Ah, I see now. Thank you.
What if it’s an arranged marriage, and the spouse tells the MC that it would be okay for them to date other people, but it’s very early on, before the MC and spouse has gotten a chance to know each other, or develop romantic feelings?
In this case I don’t think of it as a poly proposition because MC and spouse don’t have any relationship and I tend to play cheating MC in arranged marriage situation regardless of what spouse says. I usually don’t intend to romance spouse anyway because I don’t like arranged marriage trope. Though sometimes not everything goes as I intended. In Fields of Asphodel I don’t like Hermes (the only cheating option for me) but like Hades (spouse), so MC wanted to annul marriage with Hades so he can romance Hades properly 
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That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid. You are this, you do this, you do that, you go here, you go there, after some time all you’re reading is “you you you”…
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This is really interesting for me, because I tend to read 2nd person and 1st person almost… exactly the same. For example, in narration: “You aren’t going to let him get away with that, not after what he’s done. You chase after him.” Vs. “I’m not going to let him get away with that. Not after what he’s done. I chase after him.”
Those two sentences read the same to me? Is this a bad example? I’m curious on what you mean when you say you need to know “why”, because as far as I’ve read, the narration provides a Why, usually. Wouldn’t there be a similar problem with “I do x”?
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I wonder if how people feel about second person is influenced by whether they’ve ever played tabletop rpgs, and what kind of DMs they’ve had?
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I wonder if it’s related to books they’ve read. Or language? (I find it funny how my experience in 1st vs 2nd would have the exactly same arguments, but on completely opposite positions, than what I’ve seen a number of other people say.)
