by Melpomene » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:31 pm
"Think small. You just took out a big chunk of Will's raison d'etre, and you don't have anything to put in it's place.
You want Will to become a friend? Crafting friendship out of whole cloth is big. Sure, you can fake it, but that's what it is -- fake. Disposable. I don't mind that, but I think you do, and that's what makes us different, doesn't it, darling? You don't want something phony, you want the real deal. You're a hopeless romantic.
If you want that, you have to build up to it. Friend, lover, companion -- those are big, those take time. Start with something smaller; less all-encompassing, and build up.
Minion, thrall, armcandy, servant, slave, pet, toy, object -- whatever it is, you can use it as a mold. Scaffolding, around which you can build an emotional connection. Over time. Carefully. Through actions in here and out there. Reach out and give him a purpose for being with you; a calling he must follow no matter what. Make it so he has no choice but to be with you, and you'll have all the time in the world to build up from there.
But start with something small and simple and let his natural instincts fill in the gaps. You can always knock through and replace it with something more intricate once he becomes more inclined to naturally follow you. Try to make something big too fast, to treat him as an equal? You're giving him too much power; power which isn't inclined to listen to you. If it's constructed artificially, then it'll always, always feel artificial to you. Start with something easy to control, and upgrade over time. The smaller you go, the longer it will take -- but the easier it will be to make sure everything's in the right place.
Spend enough time on it, and he eventually won't need the scaffolding at all. And eventually, by rewarding behaviors you like and punishing those you don't, you'll have a friend for life. Maybe one who will even look at you like he looks at dear old Sammy."