I love all the story themes u mentioned lol. And Zayne is also my 2nd fave in lads, I guess I will love him a lot then. I don't mind the religious themes, atleast based on what I saw in ch1 he's only helping people in that role, so it don't matter. "Weird bug" feels like he's going to be confidently goofy. I love that for him.
Based on what you said and in comparison to Dari & Al, I guess he doesn't seem that dark then, so definitely in my lane.
I kinda want the context and since my doubts are cleared, I wanna ask, out of the...act 1 characters you mentioned, who has the most context, which tells me almost everything about the world, or characters, or what's going on, then maybe I'll do that first then proceed with Vlad & Faust
Well, I’m glad it helped you! Faust is my favorite character, so I didn’t want to overhype him, I just said what I think about him. If you try his route, I would like to know what you think (positives and negatives).
It's really hard for me to point at a specific route that has what you’re asking for. I haven’t played all the routes, but my impression so far is that every story would show you bits of some characters, but not everyone. Because even if all the vampires that live with Le Comte cohabitate in the same mansion, every one has their own cliques; some enjoy the company and friendship of certain characters and avoid others.
The “context” is more about how all the characters are living their peaceful second life as vampires, but there is one among them who is the antagonist and causing trouble. I think everyone already knows who, and you would know when you read any route of the first act. This antagonist is connected to the castle trio (Vlad, Faust, and Charles) because they come as an antagonizing group to the faction living in the mansion.
I still believe there is no problem that you start which whatever route your gut tells you, but I’m going to talk about the two routes that open the first and second act, and I'm also going to talk about Leonardo and Vlad because you seemed interested, so you have options depending on what you want to do.
Napoleon
I think the first guy is a good starting point to get a better understanding of the game. I like this story in particular because it helped me to understand the heroine much better, such as who she is as a person and her personality. Le Comte and Sebastian would give you a small vampire introduction class about who the residents are and what they are doing there (which is pretty much the standard for all the first act routes).
About Napoleon, he’s a natural leader (everyone seems to follow him and respect him) and charismatic with a boyish personality. Napoleon is always going to be your biggest ally in all the routes. His relationship with the heroine is just a “Friends to Lovers” story. At the start both are a bit mean to each other, but they gradually start warming up to getting along. I think they both did really well at communicating. Their relationship has a good building-up pace, so their romance feels natural. In my own concept of “romance” and “sexy”, I think this story executes both pretty good.
On the negative side, I think the problem with this route is that it is full of nonsense and plot holes (this is a common problem with the Ikemen Vampire stories). I think the story was so good at charming me with how romantic it was that It almost made me forget that there were unresolved things and zero explanations about those things.
Leonardo
Leonardo is the fan favorite of this game and one of the top #1s (I think between JP and EN, the most popular guys are Arthur, Vlad, and Leonardo).
I enjoyed Leonardo’s route because on the paper, this is the type of character that appeals to me: Incredibly smart and unpredictable like a storm. This guy is a walking encyclopedia; he’s very handsome and has a mature aura. He’s just very Daddy, and his VA is Kenjiro Tsuda. God bless; this route has his voiced lines.
His relationship with the heroine starts with “Fake Dating”. The dynamic between Leonardo and his heroine is one of my favorites of the game because of how she keeps fighting this man and how they bump heads because they’re very different and Leonardo always wants to do what he wants and she gets irritated at this and he is just throwing the heroine over his shoulder because he’s forcing her to tag along in his shenanigans without question while she’s kicking and hitting him. Just really love this fighting spirit of her. I also love how smart the heroine becomes in this one (she got a buff to fight this man), and overall, the heroine’s personality shines in this story.
Leonardo didn’t manage to sweep me off my feet, but I enjoyed the experience.
Dazai
Dazai is the essential starting point to dip your toes in the Act 2 because his story formally introduces the Castle trio (Vlad, Faust, and Charles). This route also has the context for a conversation Vlad and Faust hold at the start of Faust’s route (it is not really something that affects Faust’s story; I just didn’t understand the conversation until I read this other story).
This story kicks off right one month after the heroine arrived at the mansion, and she’s about to leave. I’m kind of indulging myself in recommending this route because I think from the routes I have read so far, this one feels like one with the best quality. It feels pretty different from the others so far, like the devs really poured love here.
Dazai is just a character that is not what he looks like. You are going to see him being silly and dumb in other routes, but that is just a mask he likes wearing to hide his true persona. He’s pretty melancholic, and his story gets pretty angsty in a good way. His first CG was “Top ten: Hottest ways to start a route." I just really adored this character and it surprised me. I believe he deserves better because he was underrated.
I also pretty much enjoyed the bits with the Castle trio. Maybe you wouldn’t like that we spend more time with Charles, but the Faust parts are good too.
If you want more Faust getting cast as a villain, I recommend playing Sebastian, which has more Faust content.
Vlad
I don’t have much commentary about him because he’s not my type of character because he falls into what I classify as “Childish Villain” and Cybird loves doing this type of character in every game because it’s very popular (I don’t want to start writing names because I don’t want to get shot, but it's always the most hyped evil guy who is like this). I don’t think this is a bad thing, just simply not my taste.
I also don’t have much commentary because I haven’t finished his story (not because is bad or anything, but because I function like that), but even when he’s not my type, I found that his story is quite fun and entertaining, so I totally would recommend playing his story.
Vlad is just best described as a whimsical character; he’s just beautiful and ethereal and loves tending to his garden and roses, and he holds much love and fascination for the beauty of the world and the humans. But I think he also is a manipulative character that wouldn’t hesitate to kill in cold blood. He’s really a dangerous man and can be very cruel.
I also think he’s quite hilarious, because he’s a very old bat; he behaves like either a child or a senile old man. Charles has to help him in the mornings to walk and sit in his chair like he’s a very old man. And at night he just falls asleep in any place, any place!!! And they have to carry him to his bed. Also, he almost killed Faust because Faust ate his strawberries, and they won’t shut up about it. Also, Vlad has zero alcohol tolerance; he got drunk eating rum cake. The man can only hold a box of apple juice. This man is “haha” funny. Well maybe I lied that I didn't have anything to say.
I have so many series ideas for Leonardo, especially about his life before coming to the mansion. Even I have ideas for AU series!!!
But lord, I don’t have enough time for everything. I have to coordinate my studies, my work, tons of hobbies, tons of self study on various subjects, I don’t even get time doom scroll. I am so doomed, I WANT MORE TIME!! DAMN IT!! I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT MY MAN!! MY SWEET LITTLE FOSSIL!! THAT STUPID VAMPIRE!!
Somehow, he managed to carry her back home without being seen.
Her breathing had become shallow by the time he laid her on the bed.
"...The cupboard..." the words barely leaving her lips.
He knew exactly what she meant.
Moving quickly, he crossed the room and opened the cupboard. His hands knew where to reach, yet his trembling fingers betrayed the panic he fought so desperately to hide. He retrieved two bottles of blood before returning to her side.
Carefully, he lifted her into his lap, supporting the back of her head as he pressed the rim of the bottle against her lips.
She drank weakly, each swallow steadier than the last, until exhaustion finally claimed her.
For the next two days, he scarcely left her bedside.
He watched every rise and fall of her chest, replaced the blood bottles before they ran dry, and remained awake through the long nights, waiting for any sign that she would open her eyes again.
On the second night, a quiet groan broke the eerie silence.
Her eyelids fluttered before they lifted slowly.
The first thing she saw was Leonardo.
Without hesitation, she reached for him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
"We have to leave," she whispered, her voice weak but unwavering.
He held her close, resting his chin lightly against her head.
"Running away won't solve this."
She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes.
"To gain something, we have to sacrifice something. But we've sacrificed everything... and gained nothing. If we stay, we'll only keep sacrificing each other."
Neither of them needed to explain the rest.
One was condemned to chase a future forever out of reach.
The other would never be seen as anything more than a monster.
After a long silence, Leonardo finally nodded.
Together, they disappeared into the forest.
The verses guided them through the darkness until they reached a roaring waterfall hidden deep among the trees.
They exchanged one final glance.
Then, hand in hand, they stepped forward.
The current swallowed them whole.
The river dragged them deeper and deeper into the illuminated depths, where glowing flora swayed with the rhythm of the water.
The force of the current pulled Leonardo farther away.
Without hesitation, she reached through the rushing water, caught his wrist, and pulled him back to her.
For a heartbeat, the world became perfectly still.
Surrounded by drifting light beneath the water's surface, she cupped his face and pressed her lips against his.
It was the first time she allowed herself to say everything she had buried within her heart.
Leonardo was humming a melody to himself, carrying a bouquet of different varieties of flowers in one hand. He doesn’t know if she likes flowers or not, and if she does, he also doesn’t know which is her favourite one, so he picked a flower from the varieties available in the shop.
He pauses in his tracks when he doesn’t see her in their meeting spot to greet him. She has always been punctual with timings and has never been late, but today she wasn’t there.
“Maybe running an errand”, he says with a sigh, leaning against one of the trees.
Half an hour passes with no sign of her.
He feels something is off, and suddenly the cold breeze brushes against his ear, chanting phrases, tracing her scent against him.
The ancient magic was trying to warn him about her situation, since the magic was connected to every vampire that resides in this forest. He was able to sense it was because of her scent lingering within him.
A chill ran down his spine when the chanting got stronger, and he was already moving before he could process what was happening.
His nose was tracing her scent, and his legs followed the path where the scent led him.
“The library?” He was confused for a moment, tilting his head to the side. “What on earth is she doing here?”
He can sense her scent growing stronger around this place. Without much thought, he gets inside the castle.
He follows her scent, reaches the hallway, and sees the door at the far end.
He was about to walk in there when he heard someone’s footsteps and sneaked behind a tall beam.
“My lord, what are we supposed to do with her. Her body is fighting against the blood that we injected into her.”
“Didn’t we use the organs of the fresh dhamphirs in it?” The man asks as they make their way towards the basement.
“Yes, my lord, we have used them, but her body still has the regeneration capabilities”
“Regeneration capabilities? Well, we will forcefully take out her fangs and wait for twenty-four hours. If it regenerates, we have to build something stronger to suppress the regeneration process.”
Leonardo was frozen in his place behind the tall beam.
So the substitute he was consuming was something to suppress the vampire qualities; they were trying to tame vampirism.
So…so everything he knew, everything he was taught was… was…
His thoughts were interrupted by the screams from downstairs.
He swiftly made his way downstairs, careful with his footsteps.
The sweet voice that used to tease him without much thought now resonates with an ache in his chest.
Meanwhile, in the basement, she was struggling against their advances. Her body was already in pain from the chains holding her restraints. The portion they injected in her body was also affecting her badly.
She tries to get up, but gives up when they hit her head with an iron rod and insert it through her and lock her against the wall.
The cold metal clamped around her fang.
She thrashed against the chains until the iron bit deeply into her wrists.
“No….”
The sound that followed wasn’t merely pain; it was something being torn away that had belonged to her since birth.
She collapses on the floor with the blood oozing out of her wounds where her fangs should have been.
“I suppose the portion does work; she lost the ability to regenerate”
They continued to discuss about the procedure when they heard some noise.
Before they could turn around, one man was already down on the floor with a claw mark against his neck. The other was about to run when her hand went straight into his chest and pulled out his heart.
She sniffs at the blood, but instantly rejects it.
“Cara Mia…”
She froze for a moment before lifting her head to look at him.
His knees give up, and he drops to the floor with a soft thud, which makes her look up at him.
She blinks once, twice, before glancing back at her trembling hands with overgrown nails, before looking around the chaos in front of her eyes.
“Leo-Leonardo…” she whispers his name, trying to reach out to him.
He instantly takes her hand, holding her against his chest.
“H-Home…”
He was trembling at the way she was looking at him.
She cups his cheek with her blood-stained hand, on the verge of losing consciousness.
With shaky hands, he pulls out the remaining chains from her body and lifts her.
A soft groan escaped her lips.
“It's okay… everything will be all right, cara mia…”
On his way, he sees the bouquet he bought for her near the tall beam.
For a heartbeat, he stopped.
Then he tightened his hold around her and walked away.
She gasps awake and sits up, taking in her surroundings as she sits inside a chamber.
“Greetings, fellow neighbour, it's good to see you, but I am not pleased at all” A similar male voice can be heard from the other side of the chamber, sending a shiver down her system.
She tries to get up, but finds herself tied in a specialised form of steel chain which inhabits her abilities.
“I presume you are still weak against steel? Have you ever wondered why?”
The man kneels, lifting her chin with a knife in his hand.
“It is because your system is sensitive towards the iron contained in these rods, whereas I, who have evolved through all these.”
“How long are you going to inhibit your abilities?” she asks, barely able to hold herself.
“As long as time exists in this world, as long as vampires survive.”
The man taps the knife against her cheek before lifting himself onto his feet.
“Extract her blood and replace it with the one we are still experimenting on; she will be our test subject for a while”
