[Meta thread] Iron's PokeRole Adventure: The Skull Ruins

[Lord Windos]

I don't personally think it's as hopeless as you think it is, Windos. There's plenty of material there to show Orthros isn't entirely the monster everyone is afraid of.  I think comparing Orthros to Lillipup was a great start.

And it's fine to continue to be scared and cautious of him IC for awhile too.  Even Nathan is going to be a little scared of Orthros's abilities after he evolves.  He'll be treating the hound with utmost respect and caution.  By the time Nathan can Mega Evolve Orthros, their bond should be strong enough to prevent any major issues, but he's going to be extra careful regardless because he knows Megas without that strong bond can go berserk and hurt themselves as well as those around them (the horror stories from Alola's pokedex have to come from somewhere, right?)

I've attempted to accomodate keeping Orthros a healthy distance away from Ventus while still trying to come up with new material to help make it clear he's moved on from his old life.  That he's adjusting to Nathan's lifestyle.  There's still more I can come up with, too, particularly after Orthros has evolved.

I'm trying to help solve this, and it's damn hard to do while trying to purposely not give Ventus reasons to cause unnecessary trouble.  The only missing piece is...well, actually starting on solving it.

I don't want Ventus to leave because of this, Windos, particularly since Orthros hasn't actually done anything of much note besides help win the gym battle with Dagny since he left his former pack.  I'd appreciate if you worked with me (and Iron) a little on actually fixing the problem.

I'm not changing my mind on what I want to do concerning Orthros, but don't let it be said that I'm being entirely unreasonable about it.

I think we are both being reasonable about this, mate, its just that we can't seem to find a compromise or solution that works for us both IC and OOC without a big sacrifice on either of our parts. We have our own perspectives and stakes with this issue, and we can't see eye to eye on what needs to be done to solve it. I or Ventus don't want a Mega Delta Houndoom around , but you want to have that option available for Nathan to utilize if he sees fit. That's why the best solution I see is just continuing with Ven trying to distance himself from the issue entirely, keep his comments to himself about the dog and avoid it at all cost, and then have him promptly leave when the Mega Houndoomnite is in your possession to avoid anymore fuss is necessary, since arguing about it IC or OOC literally will accomplish nothing. Its a simple, straightforward plan that's gariteed to work, and we can keep the group together as is until that Critical Point, which might not come until late, late game when my character would be ready to settle down and commit to pouring over his research in earnest. Heck, I could probably spin it to be a good thing that Ven leaves, depending on the circumstances and how I feel about it....

I'm not unwilling to work with your or Iron per say, I just don't think it will be enough in the given time frame to undo the black narl that is my character's prejudice towards Orthros; its just insurmountable in my opinion. To that end, I think we should focus on other matters than get my character to come to terms with the dog, and simply deal with the consequences as they come along. You are not going to give up the Mega Stone, I ain't going to force you to or bother you about it anymore, I think saving my character is a lost cause, and everyone would be happier in the long run if Ven was replaced with a more likable/less conflict prone character (even me, after I get over having to sacrifice them), so why waste energy/thought on the matter instead of putting it towards more productive ends?

The reason I compared Lillipup to Orthros was so that Ven's subconscious would swing his almost overwhelming seething hatred/despisement of Orthros towards fearful loathing and severe reluctance to interact with it, as his mind tried and failed to comprehend the sight he was seeing, and just settled with instilling a deep fear response to avoid the mental hazard that is Nathan/Orthros Bond (to Ventus, at least). Hatred was untenable for Ven to ALWAYS have, but fear could be worked with as a means to simply avoid confrontation about Orthros altogether and seek other methods to cope/deal with it that doesn't involve directly screwing around with anyone. Maybe there is some progress to be made along that route, but Ven wants to avoid it if at all possible due to being deeply unsettled and disturbed by your character's bond with Orthros, so....