I like the idea a lot, but I have a couple of tweaks to suggest. For one, I think the recipe should have been improved over the centuries. The way I imagine history in this RP, is pretty similar to the way human history progressed in our world, and it is in human nature to want to improve on any technology. Additionally, I imagine it started being mass produced at some point, like everything else.

Otherwise I'm fine with it, and it's deeper than what I had in mind.

I still don't get what the love and affection would do to change the results though? I mean, I get that Erik's freewill won't be completely broken, but what would it do? If it changes him into loving and admiring Alexi, then that's still pretty insidious, and still breaking his will, just in a different way. So what exactly do you have in mind for those results?

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Maybe the breaking "planted the seed" for it, but over time he came to the realization mostly on his own, and it was primarily his own time to think and realize that as much as he hated his lot in life now, even the breaking was a mild punishment for what he had done.