History YMMV / HeartOfTheWoods

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:"[[TheFairFolk The Moonsick One]]", currently known as [[IceQueen Evelyn Fischer]], is a fairy who has prolonged her life for centuries by [[BodySurf stealing people's bodies]] . Most recently, she grooms her "daughter" Morgan to be her next vessel, using emotional abuse to break Morgan's spirit. Evelyn uses her power of {{Glamour}} to sway the town's citizens into unquestioning loyalty to her, and is apparently responsible for misfortune befalling Morgan's first girlfriend Hannah, resulting in Morgan being treated as an outcast. When Tara and Madison arrive in Eysenfeld, Evelyn tries to get them to leave, and when that fails, uses an [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] of Tara to trick Madison into running out into a blizzard, which results in Madison freezing to death. When Tara and Morgan investigate Evelyn, Evelyn [[KickTheDog cruelly makes light of Madison's death]] and slams Tara into the wall, injuring her. She later [[IHaveYourWife uses Tara as a hostage]] to get Morgan to come with her so she can use Morgan's blood to destroy an ancestral tree of the forest, endangering the entire forest and those who live in it. In the climax, Evelyn abducts Tara to steal her body, wanting to assume the guise of a minor celebrity and leave Eysenfeld, and tries to kill Tara's friends when they arrive to thwart her plans. Evelyn is a cruel, self-centered woman who cares nothing for how many deaths she causes [[ItsAllAboutMe as long as it gets her what she wants]]]].

*** As for Tara, she values her friendship with Madison due to Madison being the only friend who stayed with her after she came out as {{Transgender}}. As a result, she takes Madison's decision to leave ''Taranormal'' rather personally, almost acting like a jilted lover, especially when she voices her doubts about how committed Madison is to the Eysenfeld project.

** Tara's background as a {{Transgender}} woman doesn't play all that much of a role in the story, save for explaining why many of her old friends parted ways for her, and why she's so grateful to Maddie (albeit a bit possessive of her) for staying friends with her.

** Tara is a {{Transgender}} woman who lost most of her friends besides Madison when she came out and transitioned. Not only does she end up having to deal with [[spoiler:Madison's death]] in the main story, but she gets hit especially hard in the bad endings, [[spoiler:despite being the only character who survives in every ending.]] [[spoiler:In the "Sacrifice" ending, she loses her girlfriend, and in the "Freedom" ending, she loses her best friend.]]

*** In Madison's case, she's initially jealous of Tara and Morgan's budding relationship, which could suggest she's actually jealous of Morgan, especially after Tara cuts her out of the investigation to work more closely with Morgan. Her feelings for Tara may explain why she stuck with ''Taranormal''' as long as she had, even after losing her passion for it. In the good ending, [[spoiler:her agreeing to help train Morgan to be her replacement while still making guest appearances, combined with spending some of her newfound free time with Abigail]], can symbolize coming to terms with her feelings for Tara.

*** In Madison's case, she's initially jealous of Tara and Morgan's budding relationship, which could suggest she's actually jealous of Morgan, especially after Tara cuts her out of the investigation to work more closely with Morgan. Her feelings for Tara may explain why she stuck with ''Taranormal''' as long as she had, even after losing her passion for it.
*** As for Tara, she values her friendship with Madison due to Madison being the only friend who stayed with her after she came out as {{Transgender}}. She takes Madison's decision to leave ''Taranormal'' rather personally, almost acting like a jilted lover.

** Tara's background as a {{Transgender}} woman doesn't play all that much of a role in the story, save for explaining why many of her old friends parted ways for her, and why she's so grateful to Maddie (albeit a bit possessive of her) for

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler:Seeing Evelyn get what she deserves in the end. In the good ending, this is accomplished by the protagonists, all people Evelyn has wronged, working together to restore Geladura to her status as Fairy Queen. In the bad ending in which Geladura dies, Geladura still has enough power to defeat Evelyn before expiring. In the bad ending in which Morgan dies, she gives her life to defeat her hated "mother." Perhaps best of all, Evelyn doesn't get away with what she's done in ''any'' of the endings, not even the bad ones.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: A minor case, but the fact that Morgan [[spoiler:is part fairy as a result of Evelyn possessing various members of her bloodline]] never plays much of a role in the story, save for when [[spoiler:Evelyn uses Morgan's blood to destroy the ancestral tree.]] It was likely intended to be more of a plot point, since [[spoiler:Morgan uses the fact that she's related by blood to "The Moonsick One" but is not moonsick herself, to take Madison's place as Fairy Queen]] in an unused ending.

** Tara is a {{Transgender}} woman who lost most of her friends besides Madison when she came out and transitioned. Not only does she end up having to deal with [[spoiler:Madison's death]] in the main story, but she gets hit especially hard in the bad endings, [[spoiler:despite being the only character who survives in every ending.]] [[spoiler:In one ending, she loses her girlfriend, and in the other, she loses her best friend.]]
** Madison [[spoiler:dies in Chapter 2, and while she has Abigail to keep her company, it's clear that she never fully accepts her state. In one of the bad endings, she ends up permanently disappearing from the sight of the living, without even getting to say goodbye to Tara.]]
** Morgan probably has the worst time of all the main characters. She grows up being raised by Evelyn, an AbusiveParent [[spoiler:who is planning on taking her body.]] As a result of Evelyn's influence, most of the town shuns her, and among the few people who talk to her [[spoiler:are closeted lesbians who use her for sex.]] She's also immensely guilty over what she ended up putting Tara and Madison through, especially after [[spoiler:Madison dies in the snowstorm.]] In one bad ending, [[spoiler:Morgan lives, but at the cost of Geladura's life and the disappearance of Abigail and Madison (just after Morgan made peace with the latter)]] while in the other, [[spoiler:Morgan herself gives her life to defeat Evelyn.]]

** When discussing how [[spoiler:Abigail's sister let her be sacrificed in her place]], Abigail says, "I don't think [[spoiler:she even thanked me]]." Given that note of uncertainty when recounting the event, is it possible that after 200 years, [[UnreliableExpositor Abigail doesn't clearly remember what happened, in part due to her own bitterness]]?

* CaptainObviousReveal: [[spoiler:Evelyn is evil. She's rather cold toward not just Tara and Madison, but also her own daughter, Morgan. A lot of her lines contain thinly veiled death threats against Madison. As a result, if there's any character among the human cast who comes off as a candidate for the villain, it's her]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: A minor case, but the fact that Morgan [[spoiler:is part fairy as a result of Evelyn possessing various members of her bloodline]] never plays much of a role in the story, save for when [[spoiler:Evelyn uses Morgan's blood to destroy the ancestral tree.]] It was likely intended to be more of a plot point, since [[spoiler:Morgan uses the fact that she's related by blood to "The Moonsick One" but is not moonsick herself, to take Madison's place as Fairy Queen]] in an unused ending.

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:"[[BigBad The Moonsick One]]", currently known as [[IceQueen Evelyn Fischer]], is a fairy who has prolonged her life for centuries by [[BodySurf stealing people's bodies]] . Most recently, she grooms her "daughter" Morgan to be her next vessel, using emotional abuse to break Morgan's spirit. Evelyn uses her power of {{Glamour}} to sway the town's citizens into unquestioning loyalty to her, and is apparently responsible for misfortune befalling Morgan's first girlfriend Hannah, resulting in Morgan being treated as an outcast. When Tara and Madison arrive in Eysenfeld, Evelyn tries to get them to leave, and when that fails, uses an [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] of Tara to trick Madison into running out into a blizzard, which results in Madison freezing to death. When Tara and Morgan investigate Evelyn, Evelyn [[KickTheDog cruelly makes light of Madison's death]] and slams Tara into the wall, injuring her. She later [[IHaveYourWife uses Tara as a hostage]] to get Morgan to come with her so she can use Morgan's blood to destroy an ancestral tree of the forest, endangering the entire forest and those who live in it. In the climax, Evelyn abducts Tara to steal her body, wanting to assume the guise of a minor celebrity and leave Eysenfeld, and tries to kill Tara's friends when they arrive to thwart her plans. Evelyn is a cruel, self-centered woman who cares nothing for how many deaths she causes [[ItsAllAboutMe as long as it gets her what she wants]]]].

* SlowPacedBeginning: Like other visual novels, it takes a while to get going, with most of the first chapter involving Maddie and Tara getting acclimated to Eysenfeld and searching for supernatural phenomena. Abigail doesn't show up until Chapter 2.

** When Tara interviews [[NoNameGiven the "Coffee Girl" and the "Quiet Girl,"]] the former remarks that "Everyone knows (Morgan)" and "devilishly smiles at her embarrassed friend" before making a subtle reference to [[spoiler:Morgan sleeping around.]] Is the Quiet Girl's reaction because [[spoiler:she was the one who slept with Morgan (which may explain why she's a bit more sympathetic to Tara than the other villagers)]] and she's embarrassed that her friend brought it up? Or is it because she's shocked at how brazenly her friend [[spoiler:is willing to hint at having slept with Tara]]? Or perhaps both?
** When discussing how [[spoiler:Abigail's sister let her be sacrificed in her place]], Abigail says, "I don't think [[spoiler:she even thanked me]]." Is it possible that after 200 years, [[UnreliableExpositor Abigail doesn't clearly remember the event in question, in part due to her own bitterness]]?

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:"The Moonsick One," currently known as Evelyn Fischer, is a fairy who has prolonged her life for centuries by [[BodySurf stealing people's bodies]] . Most recently, she grooms her "daughter" Morgan to be her next vessel, using emotional abuse to break Morgan's spirit. Evelyn uses her power of {{Glamour}} to sway the town's citizens into unquestioning loyalty to her, and is apparently responsible for misfortune befalling Morgan's first girlfriend Hannah, resulting in Morgan being treated as an outcast. When Tara and Madison arrive in Eysenfeld, Evelyn tries to get them to leave, and when that fails, uses an illusion of Tara to trick Madison into running out into a blizzard, which results in Madison freezing to death. When Tara and Morgan investigate Evelyn, Evelyn [[KickTheDog cruelly makes light of Madison's death]] and slams Tara into the wall, injuring her. She later [[IHaveYourWife uses Tara as a hostage]] to get Morgan to come with her so she can use Morgan's blood to destroy an ancestral tree of the forest, endangering the entire forest and those who live in it. In the climax, Evelyn abducts Tara to steal her body, wanting to assume the guise of a minor celebrity and leave Eysenfeld, and tries to kill Tara's friends when they arrive to thwart her plans. Evelyn is a cruel, self-centered woman who cares nothing for how many deaths she causes as long as it gets her what she wants.]]

* NightmareFuel:
** In Chapter 4 Evelyn magically controls Morgan and forces her to [[spoiler: destroy the oldest of the ancestral trees of the forest. It's not just the horror of Morgan losing control of her body (complete with her speaking in some garbled language) and being forced to do something so horrible, it's the way describes hearing the forest screaming in pain all around her.]]
*** Not long after the above scene, Madison and Abigail are horrified to discover [[spoiler: Alma, the fawn that Abigail befriended, covered in gaping wounds. There aren't any visuals, but the text describes the injuries as being as if the poor little deer's body simply "opened up," a casualty of the damage to the forest.]]
*** Towards the end of the chapter Maddie begins to [[spoiler: flicker in and out of existence due to the intense damage to the forest's power. [[{{NothingIsScarier}} This is represented by both the visuals and the music suddenly cutting to black and pure silence]].]]
** In the climax of the game, Evelyn's body, [[spoiler: for lack of a better phrase, seems to start falling apart as she prepares to transfer her soul to Tara's body. The way blood pours out of her mouth (even as she grins) is unsettling enough, but even more unsettling is the way her eyes seem to start ''melting,'' with her pupils seemingly liquifying and oozing down her face like tears.]]

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:"The Moonsick One," currently known as Evelyn Fischer, is a fairy who has prolonged her life for centuries by [[BodySurf stealing people's bodies]] . Most recently, she grooms her "daughter" Morgan to be her next vessel, using emotional abuse to break Morgan's spirit. Evelyn uses her power of {{Glamour}} to sway the town's citizens into unquestioning loyalty to her, and is apparently responsible for misfortune befalling Morgan's first girlfriend Hannah, resulting in Morgan being treated as an outcast. When Tara and Madison arrive in Eysenfeld, Evelyn tries to get them to leave, and when that fails, uses an illusion of Tara to trick Madison into running out into a blizzard, which results in Madison freezing to death. When Tara and Morgan investigate Evelyn, Evelyn cruelly makes light of Madison's death and slams Tara into the wall, injuring her. She later [[IHaveYourWife uses Tara as a hostage]] to get Morgan to come with her so she can use Morgan's blood to destroy an ancestral tree of the forest, endangering the entire forest and those who live in it. In the climax, Evelyn abducts Tara to steal her body, wanting to assume the guise of a minor celebrity and leave Eysenfeld, and tries to kill Tara's friends when they arrive to thwart her plans. Evelyn is a cruel, self-centered woman who cares nothing for how many deaths she causes as long as it gets her what she wants.]]

* SlowPacedBeginning: Like other visual novels, it takes a while to get going, with most of the first chapter involving Maddie and Tara getting acclimated to Eysenfeld and searching for supernatural phenomena. Abigail doesn't show up until Chapter 2.
* TearJerker: Both of the bad endings are this, though the second one is more bittersweet since [[spoiler: Tara and Morgan get married.]]
** Seeing the normally stoic Maddie break down and cry the morning after the expedition to the church, since Tara gave her the cold shoulder all morning and got into an argument with her the only time they spoke that day. Maddie recognizes that she hasn't always been fair to Tara, especially with her skepticism about Eysenfeld, but she's clearly hurt by the conflict with her best friend.
** Tara's backstory, in which the process of [[{{Transgender}} transitioning]] cost her all of her friends besides Madison. It's undoubtedly part of the reason why she takes Madison deciding to walk away from ''Taranormal'' as hard as she does.
** Madison realizing that she [[spoiler:froze to death]] at the end of Chapter 2, and being confronted with what it means. [[spoiler:She fears she'll never be able to see her family again, and won't be able to reconcile with Tara]].
** Tara recording a video in which she talks about [[spoiler:Madison's disappearance]]. In the space of a copule minutes, she [[spoiler:goes from joking about almost getting eaten by a bear to threatening to make Evelyn pay for her crimes, to begging Evelyn to give Maddie back, to saying she doesn't care if she finds anything on her trip as long as Maddie gets back]].
** Abigail telling the story of how [[spoiler:her sister Helena didn't hesitate to let Abigail be sacrificed in her place, and their parents were just as willing to let it happen, which meant Abigail was betrayed by those closest to her]].
-->'''Abigail''': If death looms over you for long enough, it corrupts everything. Even love.
** Morgan's past as a pariah in the village, which gets worse after the other townspeople realize she's a lesbian. Just when she starts coming to terms with that, [[spoiler:Evelyn abducts Tara to steal her body]].
-->'''Morgan''': IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!

* CaptainObviousReveal: Evelyn is evil. She's rather cold toward not just Tara and Madison, but also her own daughter, Morgan. A lot of her lines contain thinly veiled death threats against Madison. As a result, if there's any character among the human cast who comes off as a candidate for the villain, it's her.
* MoralEventHorizon: Evelyn was probably past this by the start of the story, but in-story, she crosses it by [[spoiler:using her illusion magic to deceive Madison into going after an illusionary Tara and cause her to freeze to death]].

-->'''Abigail''': If death looms over you for long enough, it corrupts everything. Even love.

-->'''Abigail''': "If death looms over for you long enough, it corrupts everything. Even love."

** Seeing the normally stoic Maddie break down and cry the morning after the expedition to the church, since Tara gave her the cold shoulder all morning and got into an argument with her the only time they spoke that day. Maddie recognizes that she hasn't always been fair to Tara, especially with her skepticism about Eysenfeld, but she's clearly hurt by the conflict with her best friend.

** Seeing the normally stoic Maddie break down and cry the morning after the expedition to the church, since Tara gave her the cold shoulder all morning and got into an argument with her the only time thye spoke that day. Maddie recognizes that she hasn't always been fair to Tara, especially with her skepitcism about Eysenfeld, but she's clearly hurt by the conflict with her best friend.

* TearJerker: Both of the bad endings are this, though the second one is more bittersweet since [[spoiler: Tara and Morgan get married.]]

* NightmareFuel: In the climax of the game, Evelyn's body, [[spoiler: for lack of a better phrase, seems to start falling apart as she prepares to transfer her soul to Tara's body. The way blood pours out of her mouth (even as she grins) is unsettling enough, but even more unsettling is the way her eyes seem to start ''melting,'' with her pupils seemingly liquifying and oozing down her face like tears.]]

** Not long after the above scene, Madison and Abigail are horrified to discover [[spoiler: Alma, the fawn that Abigail befriended, covered in gaping wounds. There aren't any visuals, but the text describes the injuries as being as if the poor little deer's body simply "opened up," a casualty of the forest's illness.]]

* NightmareFuel: In the climax of the game Evelyn's body, [[spoiler: for lack of a better phrase, seems to start falling apart as she prepares to transfer her soul to Tara's body. The way blood pours out of her mouth (even as she grins) is unsettling enough, but even more unsettling is the way her eyes seem to start ''melting,'' with her pupils seemingly liquifying and oozing down her face like tears.]]

* NightmareFuel: In the climax of the game Evelyn's body, [[spoiler: for lack of a better phrase, seems to start falling apart as she prepares to transfer her soul to Tara's body. The way blood pours out of her mouth (even as she grins)is unsettling enough, but even more unsettling is the way her eyes seem to start ''melting,'' with her pupils seemingly liquifying and oozing down her face like tears.]]

TearJerker: Both of the bad endings are this, though the second one is more bittersweet since [[spoiler: Tara and Morgan get married.]]

Tearjerker: Both of the bad endings are this, though the second one is more bittersweet since [[spoiler: Tara and Morgan get married.]]