History YMMV / LongLiveTheQueen

** Talarist. A relatively decent person who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what he has to do]] to survive and prosper in the cutthroat world of politics and can be a useful ally, potential mentor, and/or loving husband for Elodie? A complete BitchInSheepsClothing who only likes Elodie for her title and her womb? [[TakeAThirdOption Somewhere in between?]] A [[BreadMilkEggsSquick pedophile]]? Opinions are varied on his character and people can be quite vocal on how they feel about him. Making the debate worse is the fact that there's a lot of circumstantial evidence implying that he could be behind [[spoiler:Adair's assassination]] but no concrete evidence that he's the culprit.

* {{Jossed}}: While there's plenty of reason to suspect that Talarist had a hand in [[spoiler:Adair's death]], occasionally fans give him the blame for [[spoiler:personally being behind the deaths of Adair's aunt and grandmother]]. In the final plot update, if Elodie has high enough intrigue to suspect him of the former, the narrative will outright say that the latter happened when Talarist was "too young to have had any possible involvement." Supporting this is information that has always been in his dossier and in the high-level Foreign Intelligence lessons: [[spoiler:the suspicious deaths of Adair's grandmother and aunt happened twenty years before the start of the game. Talarist is currently twenty-six. He would have been six years old at the time of the deaths.]]

** [[spoiler:Even if Talarist couldn't have done it, that doesn't mean he didn't know about it. Given the string of conspicuous deaths in Adair's family and their line of succession, it's possible that Talarist's family has been trying to gain a proper foothold in Nova for generations.]]
* MemeticBadass: As mentioned in the EnsembleDarkhorse entry, your falcon.

** Elodie can cross a few over the course of the game:

* SurpriseDifficulty: Even with a walkthrough guide to know [[GuideDangIt which skills are actually important]], keeping Elodie alive requires an impressive amount of planning and manipulation. And getting one of the [[GoldenEnding best endings]] is much harder on top of that. Bit of a surprise for anyone expecting a Princess dress-up game.
* ThatOneSidequest: Joining Briony on the adventure into the Old Forest. The number of skill checks needed to both open it up and survive it are so high and so numerous, that you pretty much need to plan for it from the very beginning.

** The chocolates deserve special mention. It's attached to ''several'' possible skill tests to unlock the option for her to do anything ''other'' than glut herself on poisoned candy. And you still get the option to eat it, even if you pass them all.

** Charlotte, depending. She can [[spoiler:get bitten by a poisonous snake... set by her scheming mother to try and get her cousin killed]], or [[spoiler:Elodie can kill her mother -- one method, by frying her alive in self-defense]], or [[spoiler:Elodie can have Charlotte executed ''along with'' her mother because of her mother's crimes]], or, if you're feeling particularly sore about [[spoiler:her mom, Elodie can have Charlotte fed to the Kraken, by having people ''tie Charlotte up and gag her'' first and then dumping her off a ship, after some horrible ritual has been performed on her]]. And all this is happening to Elodie's favorite cousin. Even worse is if [[spoiler:Elodie killed her mother in self-defense]] -- she'll be absolutely heartbroken and hateful towards Elodie, who is just as heartbroken as she is.

** At the beginning of the game, her maid knows more geography than she does. As to the geographical topic in question, Talasse ''borders'' Nova (and Sedna borders Elath), so it shouldn't be exactly obscure knowledge.

* {{Jossed}}: While there's plenty of reason to suspect that Talarist had a hand in [[spoiler:Adair's death]], occasionally fans give him the blame for [[spoiler:personally being behind the deaths of Adair's aunt and grandmother]]. In the final plot update, if Elodie has high enough intrigue to suspect him of the former, the narrative will outright say that the latter happened when was "too young to have had any possible involvement." Supporting this is information that has always been in his dossier and in the high-level Foreign Intelligence lessons: [[spoiler:the suspicious deaths of Adair's grandmother and aunt happened twenty years before the start of the game. Talarist is currently twenty-six. He would have been six years old at the time of the deaths.]]

** Charlotte/Adair is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]]. It has been showing up more in fanworks, though (currently) always as a background detail and/or as a [[ShipMates Ship Mate]] to another ship. They're probably paired together due to being two of the few unambiguously good people in the game, their proximity in age, and the fact that, as the queen's cousin, Charlotte would likely be the best marriage prospect for Adair after Elodie (as he's the last of his line).

** Brin is trying to start a war for some reason, and when it goes wrong she expects Elodie to bail her out. However, [[spoiler:the fact she has not one, not two, but THREE lovers dump her - the latest of which thought she'd be together with, dumped her for being "too challenging", and ran off with a priestess]]... ouch.
** Kevan, Earl of Io. Hotheaded, abrasive, jumps to flimsy conclusions and is willing to murder for them. [[spoiler:Being "seduced" by his stepfather and then having this be discovered strained the relationship with his mother and brother, to put it lightly. The subsequent refusal to speak of the matter and the assassination of the stepfather left him with severe trust and familial issues, which he eventually confesses to Elodie, should they marry.]]
** His half-brother Thaddeus also counts. Elodie, who's seen how he behaved at school, is incredulous when his mother describes him as "fragile," but [[spoiler:[[PrimalScene walking in on his father with his brother]], followed by his father's death]] clearly messed the guy up. Furthermore, if Elodie marries him and [[spoiler:talks Togami out of invading]], he assumes his new wife is having an affair, and the game notes that he wouldn't have said anything about it had Elodie not figured out what was wrong. [[spoiler:Considering what happened the ''last'' time he was witness to an "affair", can you blame him?]] Then there's the ending where Elodie and [[spoiler:Banion]] really are sneaking around behind his back, culminating in a case of MamasBabyPapasMaybe where he adamantly ''refuses'' to suspect her and makes people who question the baby's paternity in his presence regret it, for fear of how rumors will affect the child.

** [[spoiler: Even if Talarist couldn't have done it, that doesn't mean he didn't know about it. The string of conspicuous deaths in Adair's family and their line of succession, it's possible that Talarist's family has been trying to gain a proper foothold in Nova for generations.]]

* MemeticLoser: Banion, at least as far as his love life is concerned. He tried to court Julianna in the past, but the latter was more interested in his sister. During the game proper, his attempts to marry Elodie (sometimes by coercing her) can easily backfire spectacularly. Before Version 1.3.21, his least disastrous marriages endings are the endings where Elodie [[ThreesomeSubtext is also involved with his sister Brin]]. And even as of Version 1.3.21, which finally provides a Banion marriage ending that isn't explicitly a huge mess, he's now the only person Elodie can be engaged to at the end of the game and then unceremoniously dump in the epilogue. Even the game mocks him! If Elodie has enough Internal Affairs knowledge to learn about Banion's failed courtship of Julianna, the line "Unsuccessfully romanced Julianna, Duchess of Ursul" will stay on his dossier for the entire game, regardless of what's happening in the story when the player checks his information.

** Kevan, the Earl of Io. His first appearance in the game is demanding a criminal be killed for trying to poison his sister; make a misstep and he'll pull a knife and cut her throat in broad daylight with no fucks given. He remains dangerously unstable even if you manage to have a good relationship with him.
** Talarist, who is heavily implied to be willing to [[spoiler: kill an innocent child to get what he wants. He denies that it was him, but since his bloodline makes him the rightful heir to Adair's lands and title if he dies, he's the only person with a motive, and if someone else is chosen to succeed Adair he throws a fit.]] Oh, sure, he comes off as nice and generous in person, but several of his actions indicate that he's a vindictive, nasty JerkAss underneath.
** Banion is charming and confidential unless Elodie decides to [[spoiler: punish his sister Brin for the Ixion mess]]. Depending on the exact outcome he variously resorts to [[spoiler: sending an assassin, manipulating her into an engagement, calling a vote of no confidence against her, dueling her to the death, or pretending to marry her out of love and then poisoning her]].

*** Escaping the Old Forest alone and leaving Briony there to be horribly killed by tentacles--or, knowing full well how dangerous it is, telling her to go there alone.

*** Sacrificing Charlotte to [[spoiler: the kraken]].
*** And, naturally, [[spoiler: [[{{Patricide}} killing her own father]] to prove allegiance to Togami.]]

** Some of Elodie's marriage decisions can fall into this, especially if she chooses to propose to someone whose family members she had previously executed. In the best case scenario they might simply reject her, otherwise she might find herself nearly killed, poisoned or at war.

** Potentially Alice. As a servant to Elodie, she is at the mercy to the latter's whims, and is a frequent victim of VideoGameCrueltyPotential. Elodie can beat her for reasons that aren't Alice's fault, dance with her at a ball which puts her on the spot with the scheming nobility, or even [[spoiler:turn her into a SexSlave]].
** Charlotte, depending. She can [[spoiler:get bitten by a poisonous snake... set by her scheming mother to try and get her cousin killed]], or [[spoiler:Elodie can kill her mother - one method, by frying her alive in self-defense]], or [[spoiler:Elodie can have Charlotte executed ''along with'' her mother because of her mother's crimes]], or, if you're feeling particularly sore about [[spoiler:her mom, Elodie can have Charlotte fed to the Kraken, by having people ''tie Charlotte up and gag her'' first and then dumping her off a ship, after some horrible ritual has been performed on her]]. And all this is happening to Elodie's favorite cousin. Even worse is if [[spoiler:Elodie killer her mother in self-defense]] - she'll be absolutely heartbroken and hateful towards Elodie, who is just as heartbroken as she is.
** Briony has to deal with her parents never paying any attention to her, on top of the hideous secret that [[spoiler:her mother and uncle are still reeling from their abusive stepfathers, and once were in a physical relationship.]] All she wants is someone to pay attention to her. [[spoiler:Said methods may get her and her friend (Elodie) killed... if said "friend" doesn't leave her to her fate.]]
** Joslyn. First he loses his wife, then his daughter is called on to rule even before she's crowned and is likely to die before the year is out, he's being pressured to provide an heir to his own estate while he's mourning, and may possibly [[spoiler: be killed protecting his daughter from the man who murdered his wife, left in a near-vegetative state by the battle if he survives, or worst of all, murdered by his daughter-turned-evil.]]
** Uncle Laurent, depending on your path. [[spoiler: His wife is fully willing to slowly kill him with a mind-destroying poison to keep Elodie off her scent, and his own niece might be willing to kill his entire family for his wife's crimes. We don't see much of him in the game, but Laurent is basically Lucille's puppet, and there's a good chance he has no idea.]]
** Corisande. In addition to her failing marriage and role in the Lillah-Mead family drama, she's likely to [[spoiler:lose her daughter and her brother within a few weeks.]] If Elodie blames her for the former, she breaks down crying.

* IronWoobie: Arisse. Landed with [[spoiler:a SerialKiller stepson and then a vile husband who's responsible for how fucked up Kevan, Corisande, and Thaddeus are. Her non-murderous twelve-year-old stepson is being threatened by a foreign country. Her granddaughter is suffering under a dark secret that affects her parents.]] And now she has to deal with a queen who may or may not fuck up the entire country.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Talarist. A relatively decent person who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what he has to do]] to survive and prosper in the cutthroat world of politics and can be a useful ally, potential mentor, and/or loving husband for Elodie? A complete BitchInSheepsClothing who only likes Elodie for her title and her womb? [[TakeAThirdOption Somewhere in between?]] A [[BreadMilkEggsSquick pedophile]]? Opinions are varied on his character and people can be quite vocal on how they feel about him. Making the debate worse is the fact that there's a lot of circumstantial evidence implying that he could be behind [[spoiler:Adair's assassination]] but no concrete evidence that he's the culprit.

*** And, naturally, [[spoiler: killing her own father to prove allegiance to Togami.]]

** Shipping Elodie with Charlotte is common, despite them being [[KissingCousins related.]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[Website/SomethingAwful Goons]] and [[ImageBoards /v/irgins]] alike agree: Your falcon is a badass motherfucker.

* IronWoobie: Arisse. Landed with a SerialKiller stepson and then a vile husband who's responsible for how fucked up Kevan, Corisande, and Thaddeus are. Her non-murderous twelve-year-old stepson is being threatened by a foreign country. Her granddaughter is suffering under a dark secret that affects her parents. And now she has to deal with a queen who may or may not fuck up the entire country.

* HilariousInHindsight : Joslyn's catchphrase ("As you wish") can become funny if you know about a [[Film/ThePrincessBride certain movie]] full of [[MemeticMutation memetic mutations]]... It can also become HeartwarmingInHindsight when you remember that, in the movie, "As you wish" is Westley's way to say "I love you".

* BaseBreaker: Talarist. A relatively decent person who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what he has to do]] to survive and prosper in the cutthroat world of politics and can be a useful ally, potential mentor, and/or loving husband for Elodie? A complete BitchInSheepsClothing who only likes Elodie for her title and her womb? [[TakeAThirdOption Somewhere in between?]] A [[BreadMilkEggsSquick pedophile]]? Opinions are varied on his character and people can be quite vocal on how they feel about him. Making the debate worse is the fact that there's a lot of circumstantial evidence implying that he could be behind [[spoiler:Adair's assassination]] but no concrete evidence that he's the culprit.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The developer's website recommends the game for ages 13 and up, and their line of work in general carries a heavy GirlsNeedRoleModels undertone to it. It also features incest, decapitation, tyranny, genocide, sexual slavery, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking complex political decision-making.]]

** Talarist, who ''may be'' willing to [[spoiler: kill an innocent child to get what he wants. He denies that it was him, but since his bloodline makes him the rightful heir to Adair's lands and title if he dies, he's the only person with a motive, and if someone else is chosen to succeed Adair he throws a fit.]] Oh, sure, he comes off as nice and generous in person, but several of his actions indicate that he's a vindictive, nasty JerkAss underneath.

* AngstWhatAngst: Adair has a noteable instance. It's possible, if unlikely, for Arisse to rebel after Elodie and Adair become betrothed. Assuming you win [[spoiler: Arisse and several members of his family will be executed. It's likely Elodie will have to kill Kevan as well, possibly through a horrfifc display of fire-magic]]. How Adair reacts to this will never be discussed or touched upon, and he can still end up marrying and having a good relationship with Elodie regardless.

* AngstWhatAngst: Adair has a noteable instance. It's possible, if unlikely, for Arisse to rebel after Elodie and Adair become betrothed. Assuming you win [[spoiler: Arisse and several members of his family will be executed. It's likely Elodie will have to kill Kevan as well, possibly through a horrfifc display of fire-magic]]. How Adair reacts to this will never be discussed or touched upon, and he will still end up marrying and having a good relationship with Elodie regardless.

* AngstWhatAngst?: Adair has a noteable instance. It's possible, if unlikely, for Arisse to rebel after Elodie and Adair become betrothed. Assuming you win [[spoiler: Arisse and several members of his family will be executed. It's likely Elodie will have to kill Kevan as well, possibly through a horrfifc display of fire-magic]]. How Adair reacts to this will never be discussed or touched upon, and he will still end up marrying and having a good relationship with Elodie regardless.

* * AngstWhatAngst?: Adair has a noteable instance. It's possible, if unlikely, for Arisse to rebel after Elodie and Adair become betrothed. Assuming you win [[spoiler: Arisse and several members of his family will be executed. It's likely Elodie will have to kill Kevan as well, possibly through a horrfifc display of fire-magic]]. How Adair reacts to this will never be discussed or touched upon, and he will still end up marrying and having a good relationship with Elodie regardless.