I thought he had seen it on the bedside table before and just did not see Alexi remove it? I was a little confused on that part of your post as well actually, but I was... too embarrassed to admit it.

Never be embarrassed around me. I thought the phial, the first one, was in the top drawer or something since Erik never mentioned seeing it, which is something I see him zeroing in on in his current situation, so the motion was, opening drawer, sticking in pocket, closing drawer, then to the box under the bed.

Fixed, I think/hope. Thanks for the clarification.

No problem, nice fix, I like :P I need sleep now, so I'll get to responding tomorrow :P

Fair enough, see you tomorrow then.

In my mind, vampires don't burst into flames upon getting sunlight. They just get bad sunburns after only a few minutes, and within an hour would have second degree burns. Basically they are just extremely sensitive to UV radiation. I'm assuming that point was hyperbole?

Yes, it was a funny :P

Ahh, alright, just checking. I didn't want things to disagree. :-)

If Alexi tries to give him the drug himself, especially two days from now, Erik will absolutely avoid the vial and try and get a drink directly out of his arm. It would be safer for Joseph to do it, because he understands what Erik is going through and knows how to overpower him. Between blood hunger, food hunger, and the draining effect of the chains, Erik is quite weak now, compared to other vampires. But he's still stronger and faster than humans.

Sorry, that was really bad. I'm sick at the moment and very sleepy. I'll try and edit into something better if I have time and energy tomorrow. If not, the most important elements are there, it's just lacking the literary spices and more eloquent delivery.

Is there a chance some of Alexi's more possessive and selfish impulses could accidentally have an effect on Erik after he takes the potion? I know the intent is to share memories, but it seems like side effects would be likely. I really don't want his plan to just go off without a hitch, but that's one I wanted to discuss with you since it's a bit complex.

He will be sharing his memory and showing him his soul, so I don't think his habits he's developed over the years will affect Erik. Oh, and about what you said before, about Erik being stronger than Alexi, You're right. Erik is stronger than Alexi, but he's not stronger than Joseph, at least one would assume since Erik is blood deprived and most definitely, from you descriptions, older than Erik. Alexi wants to be the one to administer the potion, but that doesn't mean he won't order his head slave to help *Smile*

It's not like the potion is an exact science though. It does essentially link Erik's mind to Alexi's, so it would be logical for there to be some unexpected repercussions with that. Maybe not severe ones, but I think we could work out a few faults in the whole thing, while keeping the main idea. It's less fun if things work perfectly as intended.

Ahh, when he said he wanted to protect Joseph, it made me (and therefore Erik) think that he was going to try and administer it on his own, which would be a hilariously bad idea for Alexi. It's becoming more and more difficult for Erik to see him as a person and not a piece of meat, made worse by the fact that they aren't exactly friends at the moment. The funny thing is, normally Erik is very respectful of humans. He isn't a "Vampire or Magical Supremacist" he just wants everyone to be equal. He worked with abolitionist humans in the rebellion with no problem. But the deprivation of blood does crazy things to a vampire's brain... and again, it doesn't help that he hates Alexi for chaining him up like this and is only even being civil out of practicality.

That would add some fun little elements after the plan is executed. No matter what you choose at the vital point :P *Teases* But, yeah, if you want some things to spill over, go for it. However check with me, just so we can figure out if the natures you are taking from Alexi are accurate :P

The chains can retract all the way to the wall, essentially pinning Erik in place, so Joseph's job will basically be to sit on Erik and hold his head still. If Erik is actually at the right point to administer the potion, his blood lust would open his mouth automatically I'd think.

Fair enough, I'll give the shape of that some more thought as we continue further and I start to understand Alexi a little better.

He literally will never say that he's ready to take it and mean it. Keep that in mind. He truly does believe he'll die first. Buuut, he might say he's ready just to try and draw Alexi close enough to get a few drops directly from his body. The fact that even if he succeeded, he would only be prolonging his own suffering, hasn't crossed his mind enough for him to care. He is basically acting on two instincts, the need for blood, and the knowledge that he cannot get it from the potion.

. . . . . . .I vaguely remember us talking about this before, and us agreeing that the decision through blood lust, that mindless acceptance, would be all the acceptance the potions needs, and that you would have that happen in, like, 2 more days. He doesn't have to conciously "Mean it" as long as he makes the decision to take it subconsciously due to blood lust. . . I distinctly remember that conversation. . . . .

I remember that conversation as well... except I remember it being that he would basically take it in his sleep, or while he was too unconscious or delirious to realize what he was doing... and that it would be around the 9th or 10th day.

He can't take it in his sleep, he has to "Make the choice" so the delirious one works since he would be taking it willingly, but only as far as pure instinct willingness goes. So. . . . .I think a time skip would be in order soonish :P

I still don't want him to remember it. It should be a memory blackout.

I'm cool with timeskipping, but not the whole 9 days. There's still a few more things I want to play out. The first time Joseph washes Erik for one thing, Erik's slow descent into instinct, emotion, and insanity, and a possible twist that I've decided to do but I'm not sure where I'm going to place it.

Oh, of course, I agree, there is still some fun to be had :P And yes, he would be quite "Not there" at that point. :P He will not remember it, but he will feel the effects when he wakes up. Veeeeeeery subtle at first. Only slight after the first dose of course :P *Tilts head* Twist, huh? Hmmmm. . . . .*Wonders if you're gonna try and twist right out of my plan* *Grin*

I doubt my little twist will actually work... In fact I'm pretty sure it won't. But it's an important thing to try for character development reasons.

Out of curiosity, how many dosages does "soft breaking" take? I'm thinking three. The idea should be that hard breaking takes longer but is (in every circumstance but this one), more complete, and leads to better servants over all.

Soft breaking take 4 doses of a different formula. Kinda like the potion has been watered down, and only a drop of the blood of the human doing the breaking needs to be used and is mixed in with animal blood. Also, it can be force fed, no consent involved.