The cast of Miraculous Ladybug and Persona 5 in the crossover-fic Raise Your Voice Against Liars.
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Phantom Thieves
In General
- Adaptational Badass: The characters from Miraculous Ladybug get Personas, and the characters from Persona 5 get to use the Miraculouses from time to time. It's pretty obvious.
- I Did What I Had to Do: The Phantom Thieves are well aware that every time they change a person’s heart in Paris, they create an opportunity for Hawk Moth to create a very dangerous akuma from that person’s overwhelming guilt and shame. They still go through with their heists because otherwise their targets will just go on hurting others and risk creating akumas that way… and because since the Thieves also have day jobs as Team Miraculous, they can make sure to prepare and arm the team (sans Chat Noir) in advance to minimize the risk.
- This is steadily Deconstructed as the story goes on. For one thing, since the public doesn’t know that the Thieves and the Heroes are one and the same group, the Thieves look like they’re going on a crusade without considering the consequences to certain parties. For another, since the Thieves see their work as necessary and routine, they occasionally DO seriously underestimate the consequences. This culminates in the group actually heading to an amusement park while waiting on Audrey’s confession, expecting a single butterfly that Ladybug could stop en route. Hawk Moth instead sends a SWARM to messily kill Audrey on live TV, triggering another mass akumatization.
- This can also apply to Adrien/Chat Noir as they refused to tell him anything for multiple reasons (worried about Chat Blanc, thinking poorly of him, etc). This all backfires on them when, out of concern for them, Chat Noir inadvertently follows them into Gabriel’s Palace and ends up at the mercy of Shadow Gabriel, only saving himself when he awakens his Persona. And shortly after they escape the Palace, he angrily rips into them for not telling him the truth about Gabriel, rightfully pointing out that they had left him in the hands of a murdering terrorist and had completely disregarded his well-being. And while he does agree to help them, he makes it VERY clear that he’s only helping with Gabriel due to the fact he’s his father and intends to leave the team afterwards due to how they had treated him.
- Jerkass Realization: For most of the story, the Phantom Thieves (especially the Tokies) do NOT have a high opinion of Adrien/Chat Noir, thinking of Adrien as a spoiled rich kid that would rat them out if he got the chance, and Chat Noir as an unstable Wild Card, with Akira flat out telling the hero straight to his face that he is unsure that he can trust him. After Adrien wanders into Gabriel’s Palace and awakens his Persona, he confronts them afterwards for their behaviour, rightfully pointing out that they had left him at the mercy of a murderer and had essentially thrown him out of the Miraculous team. At that, the Thieves realize just how unfairly they had treated him for his mistakes (or in Marinette’s case, her paranoia over another Chat Blanc future) and accept that they had completely disregarded Adrien’s well-being.
- Moral Myopia: The Phantom Thieves are heroes, but they have a very bad tendency to not consider just how suspicious or reprehensible they might appear to people outside of their circle. For instance, they are genuinely offended that some people still think ill of them after all they've done- even knowing that they use Brainwashing for the Greater Good in a city plagued with akuma attacks, and in fact have knowingly triggered some major attacks in the name of changing hearts.
- This is especially notable in their treatment of Chat Noir, which consists of demanding trust from him while offering little in return. This culminates in Chapter 117, when Akira outright says that they don't know if they can trust Chat Noir enough to put their weapons down first after he bursts into Gabriel's Palace... despite the fact that 1. The Phantoms outnumber Chat nineteen to one, 2. They were visibly armed with considerable ordnance while Chat merely had his baton, 3. They had just seen Chat use his Cataclysm, so they knew he was on a five-minute timer, and 4. The Phantom Thieves knew exactly where they were and what threats they were facing, while Chat was completely Locked Out of the Loop. Futaba followed up by snarking that it would have saved the Thieves a lot of trouble if they knew Chat’s identity, even though they had spent months zealously hiding every trace of their identities from Chat, and gave him a What the Hell, Hero? speech for asking for a reveal from Ladybug.
- This finally bites them all in the ass when Chat Noir inadvertently follows them into Gabriel’s Palace out of concern for them, where he ends up untransformed and in the mercy of his father’s Shadow, who would had killed him if Adrien hadn’t awoken his Persona and fought back. And when they return home, he chews them out for not being concerned for his well-fare at all since they had completely ignored the fact he was being abused at home and only went after Gabriel after they learned he was Hawk Moth (something that hits Ryuji, Futaba, Makoto and Yusuke hard due to their own experiences) and they were fully intending on keeping him out of the loop in regards to Gabriel.
- This is especially notable in their treatment of Chat Noir, which consists of demanding trust from him while offering little in return. This culminates in Chapter 117, when Akira outright says that they don't know if they can trust Chat Noir enough to put their weapons down first after he bursts into Gabriel's Palace... despite the fact that 1. The Phantoms outnumber Chat nineteen to one, 2. They were visibly armed with considerable ordnance while Chat merely had his baton, 3. They had just seen Chat use his Cataclysm, so they knew he was on a five-minute timer, and 4. The Phantom Thieves knew exactly where they were and what threats they were facing, while Chat was completely Locked Out of the Loop. Futaba followed up by snarking that it would have saved the Thieves a lot of trouble if they knew Chat’s identity, even though they had spent months zealously hiding every trace of their identities from Chat, and gave him a What the Hell, Hero? speech for asking for a reveal from Ladybug.
- Multinational Team: Half the team is from Japan, the other half is from France.
- Second Super-Identity: All of them, with the exception of Morgana, have multiple aliases depending on whether they're fighting Shadows in the Metaverse or akumas in France, and potentially even more if they've wielded multiple Miraculouses.
- Marinette is Ladybug with the Ladybug Miraculous and Chance in the Metaverse.
- Luka takes up the new alias of Kobra with the Snake Miraculous and acts as Viper in the Metaverse.
- Nino is Shadow Barb with the Horse Miraculous and Beat in the Metaverse.
- Alix is Bunnix with the Rabbit Miraculous and Jack in the Metaverse.
- Kagami takes up the new alias of Dragonica with the Dragon Miraculous and reuses her old codename of Ryūko in the Metaverse.
- Kim is Yanbian with the Ox Miraculous and King in the Metaverse.
- Nathaniel is Ibex with the Goat Miraculous and Red in the Metaverse.
- Juleka is La Prédatrice with the Tiger Miraculous and Gem in the Metaverse.
- Marc is Phacochére with the Pig Miraculous and Smith in the Metaverse.
- Adrien is Chat Noir with the Black Cat Miraculous and Rogue in the Metaverse.
- Akira is Joker in the Metaverse, Amur with the Tiger Miraculous, Jinhua with the Pig Miraculous, Harlequin with the Ladybug Miraculous and Kujaku with the Peacock Miraculous.
- Ryuji is Skull in the Metaverse and Saruchame with the Monkey Miraculous.
- Ann is Panther in the Metaverse and Bombshell with the Turtle Miraculous.
- Yusuke is Fox in the Metaverse, Kijutsu-shi with the Fox Miraculous, and on one occasion he was Wukong with the Monkey Miraculous.
- Makoto is Queen in the Metaverse and Mitsubachi with the Bee Miraculous.
- Futaba is Oracle in the Metaverse, Henhouse with the Rooster Miraculous, and most recently was Vizsla with the Dog Miraculous.
- Shiho is Rise in the Metaverse and Hou-ou with the Rooster Miraculous.
- Haru is Noire in the Metaverse and Madame Nezumi with the Mouse Miraculous.
- Yuuki is Ace in the Metaverse and Great Dane with the Dog Miraculous.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: They inadvertently end up setting the stage for the Gabriel Agreste arc: He was able to find out about them and takes advantage of their heists to not only cause more akumas with their targets confessions, but also ends up turning to murder in order to hide his identity, resulting in Audrey’s death. They also don’t do anything to help Adrien and even try to keep him out of the loop, resulting in him wandering into Gabriel’s Palace, almost getting killed in the process. And even though he’s able to save himself by awakening his Persona and agrees to join them, Bunnix warns that if Gabriel’s heart isn’t stolen in time, he will become desperate enough to akumatize Adrien into Chat Blanc, causing the end of the world. If the Thieves had dealt with him a lot sooner, it would had saved a ton of grief for everyone and Adrien wouldn’t be at risk of getting akumatized and destroying the world.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Adrien gives them a MASSIVE one for trying to keep him out of the loop regarding his father and the Miraculous simply because of their mistrust of him, even though they know that his father was a terrorist and a murderer.
- You Are What You Hate: Played for Drama, as much as the Tokyo Thieves claim to hate bullies, mistrust Adrien for abandoning Marinette and leaving her at Lila’s mercy and especially hate Lila for what she had done, they ultimately had zero problem doing similar things that the two did to Adrien himself, becoming bullies themselves overtime: They essentially bully him off of the Miraculous team as Chat Noir, gradually turning his friends against him in the process, and then they (along with the Parisian Thisves) ultimately left him at Gabriel’s mercy with the intention of fully intending on never doing anything to personally help him out other then stealing Gabriel’s heart, simply because they didn’t like or trust him. Needless to say, they are forced to realize just how low they had fallen after seeing Adrien awaken his Persona, have a massive panic attack over everything, and then having him massively call them out for their behaviour.
- It’s to the point that when Adrien obtains his Persona, about half of the "will of rebellion" speech he gets was about standing up against the Phantom Thieves.
Parisian Team
Chance
Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Codename: Chance/Ladybug, Holder of the Ladybug Miraculous/Guardian of the Chinese Miracle Box
Arcana: Luck (alternate Fool)
She meets the Tokyo Phantom Thieves on her school trip to Hawaii and almost immediately forms a familial bond with the group, comforting and emphasizing with her over her treatment at her school.
After she and her boyfriend, Luka, accidentally wander into Lila's palace and learn about the Metaverse, the two of them become the first international members of the Phantom Thieves. She takes up the codename: Chance.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Marinette continuously claims to Chat Noir, her Phantom Thief teammates, and herself that she ‘’does’’ trust her oldest partner, and that Chat Noir is still a vital part of the team. Going by her actions, however, this belief is either all in her head, or heavily twisted by her own paranoia regarding the Chat Blanc incident, feeling like she can't really be honest with him until she can be certain he won't be akumatized. As Adrien eventually points out, she wouldn’t even take enough of a chance on him to explain ‘’why’’ Chat Noir was more of a risk than the other eighteen people who knew each other’s identities.
- Birds of a Feather: Is very quick to bond with the Tokies due their shared experiences.
- Broken Pedestal:
- She used to look up to Ms. Bustier, until she did nothing to help her with her bullying problems, instead scolding her and telling her to ‘be a good example’. And what remains of her respect is fully destroyed in Bustier’s Palace when she sees how Bustier really thinks of her.
- Everyone in her class (Alya and Adrien especially), can be considered this, while she used to be one in turn for the majority of them. After Lila confesses, the class starts working on earning her forgiveness, with varying degrees of success.
- Extreme Doormat: Is often treated like this by others: Alya expects her to easily forgive her for her actions, Bustier tells her to be a ‘good example’, Adrien tells her to ‘take the high road’ and after Lila confesses, is fully expected to forgive Lila by Bustier and Damocles. Thankfully, thanks to the Tokies, she learns to stand up for herself and that she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to.
- Grew a Spine: With help from the Phantom Thieves and Luka, ultimately culminating with her rejecting Lila’s public apology to her, despite being expected to forgive Lila and then refusing Bustier’s attempts to get her to contact Lila.
- Heal the Cutie: By the time the story starts, she's been emotionally destroyed by Lila's vendetta against her and her lack of support to the point of attempting suicide. Much of her character arc in the first two Palaces is about repairing what's left of her shattered self-esteem.
- Hourglass Plot: She’s so paranoid about causing another Chat Blanc future and wanting to hide the truth about the Thieves, she ends up doing the exact thing Adrien did to her during the mess with Lila to Chat Noir: Refusing to share any information with him and allowing her new teammates to mistreat him, eventually pushing him out of the team. This ends up being taken to its natural conclusion when his concern for the team causes him to unintentionally follow them into Gabriel’s Palace, where he would had ended up dying if he hadn’t awoken his Persona, and she gets called out by Adrien afterwards for leaving him at Gabriel’s mercy alongside the others, severely straining his trust in her.
- The Leader: Shares this role with Akira. While he's in charge in the Metaverse, she's in charge in their Miraculous work as the Guardian. She's unofficially the leader of the Parisian Phantom Thieves, but nobody brings it up.
- Light 'em Up: Her Persona, Mulan, wields light skills in battle.
- Official Couple: With Luka.
- Precision F-Strike: Drops an F-Bomb when Gabriel flees at the end of the battle in Chapter 114 after he kills Audrey to cause a mass akumatization."GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING MURDERER! WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"
- The Scapegoat: Was the subject of most of Lila’s lies, resulting in her being seen as a bully for things she didn’t do, until Lila confessed. In Bustier’s Palace, it’s revealed Bustier was using Marinette as this, freely allowing Chloe and Lila to bully her instead of stopping them.
- This Is Unforgivable!: She fully declares that she will never forgive Lila for her actions during an assembly regarding the girl when she apologizes. Everyone except for her class applauds her for it.
- Took a Level in Badass: Becomes a persona user in Lila’s palace, with her initial persona being Mulan.
- Trauma Button: Being taken to a Bad Future where an akumatized Chat Noir destroyed the world left some serious scars on Marinette’s heart. As the story goes on, it’s clear that she is so desperate to prevent Chat Blanc from happening that she stands back and watches her friend grow steadily more isolated to keep the peace… and she also admits that it was a major reason why she never considered dating Chat Noir. When Marinette has a chance to speak to Bunnyx again, she asks for confirmation that her and LUKA’S love didn't destroy the world.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: So, Mari, love? Maybe telling the Big Bad that you know where he lives, and thus know his identity, may not have been the smart move. Now that he's desperate, he's no doubt, if pressed long enough, going to cross the one line he's drawn in the sand.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Chat Noir tries to give Ladybug this when he learns that Kobra knows her identity. Kobra very quickly deflects it back onto him instead.
Viper
Luka Couffaine/Codename: Viper/Kobra, Holder of the Snake Miraculous
Arcana: Adam (Alternate Emperor)
After having his identity as Viperion revealed by Miracle Queen months prior, Marinette calls on him once more to take the Snake Miraculous again under a different hero alias, Kobra.
After Luka and Marinette accidentally wander into Lila's palace and learn about the Metaverse, the two of them become the first international members of the Phantom Thieves. Luka takes up the codename: Viper as a tribute to his past hero persona.
- Arch-Enemy: Is Bob Roth's. Between the old man ripping off Kitty Section, his insulting and threatening of Marinette, and trying to kidnap Juleka on Kobra's watch, Luka has more than enough evidence to want to steal Roth's heart.
- Berserk Button: He's normally a chill boy and voice of reason for the Parisian Phantom Thieves (seeing he is the oldest member of the branch), but he has one condition. Don't insult or hurt either Marinette or Juleka. He's protective of both of them.
- Big Brother Instinct: To Juleka. He despises how Lila is manipulating her, and is appalled when he learns what she really thinks of his sister due to her sexuality while in her Palace. Then he had to save Juleka when someone attempts to kidnap her.
- Blow You Away: His Persona, Terpander, wields wind skills in battle.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Terpander eventually evolves into Krotos.
- Official Couple: With Marinette.
- Siblings in Crime: Once Juleka joins the Phantom Thieves, he and she are this.
Beat
Nino Lahiffe/Codename: Beat/Shadow Barb, Holder of the Horse Miraculous
Arcana: Artisan (alternate Lovers)
After learning the truth about Lila's true nature, Nino joins the Phantom Thieves under the codename: Beat. He also, eventually, repairs his friendship with Marinette enough that she entrusts him with a Miraculous once again. This time, he takes up the Horse Miraculous under the alias Shadow Barb.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: He is stripped of the Turtle Miraculous, but eventually manages to repair his friendship with Marinette and rejoin the team as the horse hero Shadow Barb.
- The Atoner: Becomes this after learning the truth about Lila, and is taking the first step at redemption.
- Casting a Shadow: His Persona, Shaka Zulu, wields dark skills in battle.
- Mundane Utility: As Shadow Barb, his biggest responsibility is teleporting to Tokyo to call in the Phantom Thieves.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Shaka Zulu eventually evolves into Shango.
- Ship Sinking: He and Alya have broken up by the time he commits to the Phantom Thieves. However, as of Chapter 65, they're considering becoming Amicable Exes.
Jack
Alix Kubdel/Codename: Jack/Bunnix, Holder of the Rabbit Miraculous
Arcana: Archangel (alternate Judgment)
Alix started to get suspicious about Lila's lies a little before the Hawaii trip. Her suspicions were confirmed when Future Bunnix sent her a riddle the day of the Phantom Thieves heist.
After successfully changing her heart, Alix not only joins the group (codename: Jack) but shortly after, Ladybug loans her the Rabbit Miraculous for the first time.
- Adaptational Badass: Awakens as a persona user, and later on, becomes a permanent holder of the rabbit miraculous.
- Atomic Superpower: Her Persona, Atalanta, wields nuclear skills in battle.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: As much as he annoys her, she does care for her older brother Jalil. She was actually traumatized by his Akumatization into Pharaoh back in Season 1, and was horrified to find her father was Akumatized and was trying to kill him for annoying him about his theories too many times.
- Gender-Blender Name: "Jack" is a more masculine codename. Oddly enough it fits the small tomboy who is a bit of a jackrabbit.
- My Future Self and Me: Future Alix was the one who pointed Present Alix to the Phantom Thieves.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Atalanta eventually evolves into Wenet.
Ryūko
Kagami Tsurugi/Codename: Ryūko/Dragonica, Holder of the Dragon Miraculous
Arcana: Eve (alternate Empress)
Marinette's close friend and Adrien's girlfriend. Unlike those of Bustier's class, Kagami saw through Lila's lies very early on and remained one of Marinette's pillars of support outside of class.
She once again becomes the holder of the Dragon Miraculous during the second mass akumatization, under a different hero name, Dragonica. Shortly after, she accidentally wanders into Mementos and gains her own Persona, joining the Phantom Thieves themselves immediately after, with codename: Ryūko.
- Adaptational Badass: Becomes a persona user after following the Phantom Thieves in Mementos when facing her mother’s shadow.
- Badass Normal: During the mass Akuma attack come Lila's confession, by the time Morgana comes to deliver to her the Dragon Miraculous, she is in the middle of defeating an Akuma with her fencing prowess ALONE. Giving it to her makes her an Empowered Badass Normal.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Does this towards her mother Tomoe Tsurugi when she tries to have her daughter moved back to Japan and break up with Adrien.
- Official Couple: With Adrien.
- Shock and Awe: Her Persona, Jingū Kōgō, wields electric skills in battle.
King
Lê Chiến Kim/Codename: King/Yanbian, Holder of the Ox Miraculous
Arcana: Captain (alternate Chariot)
After Lila's confession, Kim works hard to try and rebuild his friendship with Marinette, to whom he expresses true regret for his actions.
He joins the Phantom Thieves at the beginning of Bustier's Palace infiltration, becoming suspicious about Marinette and co.'s strange behavior and activities. He officially is dubbed King as his codename and is later entrusted with the Ox Miraculous, as the hero Yanbian.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: He is stripped of the Monkey Miraculous, but eventually manages to repair his friendship with Marinette and rejoin the team as the ox hero Yanbian.
- The Atoner: Becomes this after Lila is exposed, slowly rebuilding his friendship with Marinette.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Kim is mainly known for being the Dumb Jock of the team, but after Adrien finally learns about the Metaverse and blows up at the Phantom Thieves for keeping him Locked Out of the Loop, Kim is the first to point out that the Thieves aren’t necessarily getting a new teammate out of the situation. Even as some of the more intelligent Thieves, such as Alix, take it for granted that the newcomer is going to join, Kim points out that he had been ‘’really’’ upset the day before, and they couldn’t really blame him if he told them to go pound dirt.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Lê Lợi eventually evolves into Mnevis.
- Passing the Torch: After properly meeting Ryuji, his successor as the Monkey Miraculous wielder, he requests the bottle blond to take care of Xuppu.
- Playing with Fire: His Persona, Lê Lợi, wields fire skills in battle.
- Speed Blitz: As Yanbian, Kim specializes in doing this with his Full Steam ability.
- Theme Naming: By the time he joins the group, they have a Joker (Akira), a Queen (Makoto), and a Jack (Alix), as in a hand of playing cards. Marinette suggests King to complete the set.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Has arachnophobia.
Red
Nathaniel Kurtzburg/Codename: Red/Ibex, Holder of the Goat Miraculous
Arcana: Cobbler (alternate Magician)
A shy artist who used to harbor a crush on Marinette.
During the events of Bustier's Palace, Nathaniel accidentally gets trapped inside, and it's revealed that Caline is his biological mom who abandoned him and his dad when he was born. After escaping, he's brought into the group with the codename: Red to assist them in taking the teacher down.
Shortly after Bustier's confession, and her akumatization and amokization that follows, Ladybug lends him the Goat Miraculous, becoming the superhero, Ibex.
- An Ice Person: His Persona, Peruggia, wields ice skills in battle.
- Missing Mom: His mother, Ms.Bustier walked out on him and his father while he was a baby.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Peruggia eventually evolves into Pan.
- Official Couple: With Marc.
- You're Not My Father: Declares this to Shadow Bustier.
Gem
Juleka Couffaine/Codename: Gem/La Prédatrice, Holder of the Tiger Miraculous
Arcana: Sorcerer (alternate Hanged Man)
Luka’s shy younger sister. After the completion of Roth's Palace, she is entrusted with the Tiger Miraculous, becoming La Prédatrice.
- A Day in the Limelight: Juleka is the main focus in the Bob Roth arc: he wants to kidnap her and sell her to someone in Germany, giving the Phantom Thieves more then enough motivation to go after him. During this, she also ventures into his Palace, awakens her Persona, and starts to make amends with Marinette and Luka.
- Moment of Weakness: Why she did nothing against Lila: she was afraid Lila would ruin her life, too. This also becomes My Greatest Failure, as she clearly hates herself for what she did to Marinette and Luka. She even thought she was worthy of having her heart stolen!
- Next Tier Power-Up: Nene eventually evolves into Wagohba.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Just like her canon self, she finds some of the Shadows they face cool. But even she has her limits to the Metaverse.
- Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Downplayed in that she doesn't ask for Marinette to actually kill her, but she admits to Marinette that "If there was anyone who deserved to steal [her] heart, it would be you" for not standing up and supporting her against Lila.
- Psychic Powers: Her Persona, Nene, wields psychokinesis skills in battle.
- Siblings in Crime: Joins the Phantom Thieves alongside her big brother, Luka.
Smith
Marc Anciel/Codename: Smith/Phacochére, Holder of the Pig Miraculous
Arcana: Alchemist (alternate Sun)
A young avid writer and Nathaniel's boyfriend.
During the events of Audrey's arc, Marc winds up inside of Audrey's palace where he awakens to his persona. Soon after he joins the team under the codename: Smith. Later Ladybug entrusts him with the Pig Miraculous, becoming the superhero: Phacochére.
- Adaptational Gender Identity: In canon, Marc is a somewhat androgynous-looking boy with male pronouns. Here he's genderfluid and goes by he/him, she/her, and they/them.
- Blow You Away: His Persona, Raffles, wields Wind skills in battle.
Rogue
Adrien Agreste/Codename: Rogue/Chat Noir, Holder of the Cat Miraculous/ Co-Guardian of the Chinese Miraculous Box
Arcana: Chagrins (alternate Devil)
Winds up in Gabriel's Palace after following the Thieves where he awakens his Persona following a near death experience.
- Abusive Parents: Every one of his flaws can be traced back to his father’s treatment of him.
- Apocalypse Maiden: An unique example of this, as Bunnyx warns that if the Phantom Thieves don’t complete the deadline for Gabriel’s Palace in time, he will akumatize Adrien into Chat Blanc, dooming the world.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Adrien finally has the whole picture and asks the Phantom Thieves why they didn't change his father's heart, he gets some justifications back. Futaba protests that that's what they were doing when Chat Noir barged in, and Nathaniel informs him that the group had only just learned that Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth. Adrien's response cuts right to the heart of what they were telling him; that the group- which included several of his classmates, his ex-best friend, and his girlfriend- considered Adrien's wellbeing and happiness a low priority compared to everything else they were dealing with.Adrien: So, my safety wasn't important to you?
- The Atoner: A lot of his character development has to do with what he has done to Marinette and wanting to ensure that doesn't happen again.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Adrien's view on the Phantom Thieves is that they're a group of dangerous criminals that, like Hawk Moth, need to be stopped. However, he either is ignorant of or outright ignores their We Help the Helpless traits, as well as the fact that there are other dangerous criminals in Paris besides Hawk Moth (for example, he and the rest of Team Miraculous didn't know there was a human trafficking ring operating under their noses until one of their classmates barely escaped being a victim of this with her life). This mentality is precisely why Ladybug (who is a Phantom Thief in her now triple life) is reluctant to share any more information with Chat about them than necessary... he'd whistle blow, if not outright attempt to arrest them.
- Boom, Headshot!: Does this to Akechi/Blask Mask in Chapter 126 in order to stop him from killing Gabriel, quickly becoming horrified at what he had done. Thankfully for him, the Thieves’ quick acting save Akechi’s life.
- Broken Ace: He's a famous model and superhero who struggles with his relationships with Ladybug and his father and has to overcome his own major screwups regarding Lila and Chloe.
- Character Development: Does this over the course of the story, realizing he needs to change himself after learning just how naive and passive he is after Lila confesses. And despite the lack of focus on him throughout the story and still keeping his kind nature, resulting in him accidentally following the team into Gabriel’s Palace and later begging them to save Akechi’s life after he shoots him, he’s ultimately able to gain a better understanding of the world and gains the courage to stand up for himself, even calling out Chloe’s, his father’s, and the Thieves’ poor treatment of him, making it extremely clear that he’s done being pushed around.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His Persona, Maccabaeus, uses Curse skills in battle.
- Didn't Think This Through: He's so caught up in wanting to keep everyone happy to avoid akumatizions, he fails to see what the long term affect of letting some people’s behaviour go on, as shown with Lila. He was so concerned for her getting akumatized, he failed to notice how badly her bullying was affecting Marinette, how Lila’s basically taking advantage of his refusal to help to make things worse for Marinette, or how badly his friends would react to the truth.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Wishes Ladybug would trust him more with her decisions, such as the matter of the knowledge of their civilian identities and those of the others, and would let him have a say in some things. However, his bad habit of lashing out as Chat Noir note only makes Ladybug even more reluctant to share any information with him out of fear of how he’ll react.
- Et Tu, Brute?:
- Allows his class to be deceived by Lila and did nothing to help Marinette simply out of fear of Lila getting akumatized and wanting to protect himself, culminating in him ultimately abandoning her. This costs him not only the respect of his class, but his friendships with Marinette and Nino as well.
- Eventually, Adrien gets his own turn with this when he learns that Marinette, Nino, and Kagami, among others, had not only been going behind Chat Noir’s back to help the helpless through changing hearts, but they were willing to leave Adrien Agreste under the thumb of his Control Freak father without any interference. The final straw was learning that the Thieves had found out that Gabriel was Hawkmoth- and they were still unwilling to let Adrien know that he was living with a terrorist and murderer.
- Fatal Flaw: Has several of these.
- Adrien's need to please and make everyone around him happy: He abandoned Marinette in his plan to keep Lila happy so that the latter wouldn't be akumatized, and was also afraid of being bullied if he stood up for her or himself. This has destroyed his bonds with both Marinette and Nino, two of his closest (and only) friends.
- Adrien also has a tendency to fall into tunnel vision and black-and-white thinking: He didn't realize that Marinette's suffering made her susceptible to akumas or that Lila would never change (especially while being pandered to). And while he has every right to be suspicious of the Phantom Thieves, he also fails to consider the good they are doing, or the greater picture that many more people abusing their influence like Hawkmoth exist and need to be stopped. Displaying these traits as Chat Noir has made Ladybug reluctant to tell him about her involvement with the Phantom Thieves.
- On a different note, he doesn't handle rejection well: He reacts inappropriately as Chat Noir in whose disguise he feels more comfortable showing his frustrations. It's understandable given his upbringing, but he repeatedly showed an entitled attitude to Ladybug's affections and the knowledge of her identity, straining their partnership.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: The main reasons that Adrien didn’t do anything about Lila are because he was afraid that she would get akumatized, believed that she had just wanted friends, that her lies were ‘small’, and was afraid everyone would turn against him. The Phantom Thieves counter every one of them, asking if he ever thought of Marinette getting akumatized, tells him that lies aren’t small, that wanting friends is no excuse for lying, and reminds him that he promised to stand by Marinette's side.
- Grew a Spine: Does this over the course of the story after the Lila arc, culminating in him cutting ties with Chloe for good when she admits she was trying to isolate him and massively calling out the Phantom Thieves for leaving him at Gabriel/Hawk Moth’s mercy, saying that it would be for the best if they part ways after Gabriel’s heart is stolen.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Serves as this for Gabriel’s Palace, as while he does want to change his father’s heart, he’s still angry and wary at the Thieves for what they’ve done (and refused to do) admitting that his father is the only reason he’s bothering with them at this point. Subverted following Gabriel's trial, where he decides to stay with the thieves after having time to process everything.
- Honorary True Companion: Inverted. Theoretically he's a member of Team Miraculous the same as any Phantom Thief, but he spends the entirety of the fic being increasingly marginalized and by the time they reach Gabriel's Palace, he's for all effective intents and purposes a team member on paper only. Justified, as both teams’s actions (and inactions) had seriously affected his trust in them and he’s only helping them since it’s his father that they’re dealing with.
- Horrible Judge of Character:
- Believed that one of the reasons Lila was lying was because she wanted friends and would had stopped lying sooner or later. Needless to say, he’s horrified when she confesses her crimes, revealing that she was a murderous psychopath that was working with Hawkmoth and not a misunderstood lonely girl like he believed.
- He believes that the Phantom Thieves are blackmailing their targets and will abuse their powers. Since no one in Paris knows how the Thieves operate and it does look shady to outsiders, this is more understandable.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: One of his reasons for not speaking up about Lila is because he was afraid of losing the friends that he has. Unfortunately, this ended up becoming a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, with Marinette and Nino ending their friendships with him due to his abandonment of Marinette, and him losing the trust of the rest of the class for letting them be deceived.
- Locked Out of the Loop: He’s fully aware that he is this when it comes to any decisions Ladybug makes. And he hates it, as he wants her to trust him and to give him more of a say on things. However, him trying to subvert this only results in a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, as his black and white viewpoints and his bad habit of lashing out only makes Ladybug even more reluctant to share things with him.
- Ultimately Deconstructed, as Marinette and the other Phantom Thieves trying to keep him out of the loop results in them not telling him that his own father is Hawkmoth (who, at that point, has murdered Audrey) or trying to help him, resulting in him finding out the hard way when he stumbles into Gabriel’s Palace. Needless to say, he is pissed at them afterwards for a very good reason.
- Official Couple: With Kagami. But it’s heavily implied he still has feelings towards Ladybug.
- My Greatest Failure: He clearly sees his abandonment of Marinette as this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has this reaction to the point he actually becomes psychically ill when Lila confesses and Marinette storms out of the room, having realized just how vile Lila really was and how he made Marinette endure all of Lila’s bullying.
- Secretly Selfish: What his defense of Lila and ultimate abandonment of Marinette turned out to be, as he didn’t want to deal with Lila as an Akuma, or lose his friends. He’s getting over this.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Falls prey to this multiple times:
- First, not stopping Lila partly out of his fear of losing his friends, and ends up losing Marinette and Nino, his closest friends.
- Then, lashing out when he thinks Ladybug doesn’t respect him and wanting her to trust him, which only serves to further alienate her and not tell him things.
- Spanner in the Works: Ends up becoming this towards Shido and the Conspiracy, as his shooting of Akechi and then pleading to the Thieves to save him results in Akechi willingly giving up information about them, allowing the Thieves to prepare for dealing with them before Shido becomes Prime Minister.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Chat Noir and the rest of Team Miraculous don’t always have picture-perfect teamwork, but considering the safety of Paris is on the line, Chat continues to show up and do his part, even after admitting to Ladybug that he doesn’t consider himself her partner anymore. Things worsen dramatically once Adrien learns about the Metaverse and exactly ‘’how much’’ he’d been Locked Out of the Loop; he outright admits that the only reason he isn’t telling the others to go pound sand is that he’s well aware that he wouldn’t stand a chance attempting Gabriel’s Palace by himself. Even then, he agrees to the alliance stating up front that he thinks they should go their separate ways afterwards.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After the sheer amount of crap he had to go through the story, Adrien is able to reconcile with Ladybug and Kagami and he becomes one of the Guardians of the Miraculous alongside Ladybug, showing that he’s no longer the outsider and he’s FINALLY getting the respect he deserves.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Unintentionally was this to his class: he gaslit Marinette into taking all of Lila’s abuse, claiming that Lila’s lies are ‘small’, ‘don’t hurt anyone’ and they can’t let her get akumatized. And then despite his claims to Marinette that ‘they are in this together’, he turned his back on her, mainly to keep all of his friends. Friends that he knew were being deceived by Lila, and he simply allowed it to happen for the same reasons above. At the end of Lila’s arc, he is forced to realize how shitty he was to everyone, and he resolves to work on himself so he won’t be this anymore.
- The Unmasking: Is still hoping for this with Ladybug. Unfortunately, this causes him to lash out when he learns that Kobra knows hers, insisting that she should had erased his memory.
- Unwitting Pawn: To Lila. She fully knows of his concern of her getting akumatized and of his refusal to step in and fully took advantage of it.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Marinette and Nino. Thankfully, Chapter 70 reveals that he’s repairing his friendship with Nino. Then his friendship with them, along with the Parisian Thieves is severely strained, to the point of being truly destroyed, when he finds out they were part of the Phantom Thieves, and ultimately couldn’t be bothered to try to help him with Gabriel, resulting in him telling them he thinks it would for the best if they parted ways after Gabriel is redeemed.
- With Chloe, out of his own accord. When she confesses that she isolated him because she wanted him to herself, he rejects her apology and cuts ties with her.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Gets completely and utterly read the riot act for his actions regarding Lila and Marinette after Lila’s confession: The Tokies counter every one of his excuses with cold hard facts while making him realize just how ignorant he was of Marinette’s well-being, Nino reminds him of his promise to support her, and Marinette herself rejects his apology, saying that he abandoned her to ‘keep his illusion of peace’ and tells him that he has to work to earn her forgiveness.
- He receives one as Chat Noir from Kobra for getting angry over him knowing Ladybug’s identity, saying that he really didn’t have a choice in the matter and that Chat Noir is just trying to push his desire for an identity reveal onto Ladybug.
- He FINALLY gets to give one himself in Chapter 118 when he learns that the majority of his friends were working with the Phantom Thieves and had kept him out of the loop in regards to his father, essentially leaving him in the care of a abusive, murdering terrorist with no regard to his safety. And while he does agree to work with them, he makes it very clear that the only reason he hasn’t told them to 'go pound sand' is because he needs their help and that once after Gabriel is dealt with, he intends to cut ties with them.
- What You Are in the Dark: Despite the team mistreating him as Chat Noir, with the Tokies trying to bully him off the team and Ladybug becoming more distant with him, he ultimately still kept an eye on them, refusing to leave them in any possible danger. This is what leads to his Persona awakening, as he gets caught up in the teleportation to Gabriel’s Palace.
Tokyo Team
Joker
Akira Kurusu/Codename: Joker/Amur, Holder of the Tiger Miraculous/Jinhua, Holder of the Pig Miraculous/Harlequin, Holder of the Ladybug Miraculous/Kujaku, Holder of the Peacock Miraculous
A second-year high school student who is transferred to Shujin Academy in Tokyo after being put on probation for assaulting a molester. While he seems meek and passive, this behavior hides the heart of a trickster that eventually leads to him becoming "Joker", a notorious Gentleman Thief.
He and his friends meet Marinette on their trip to Hawaii and become fast friends with her when they realize she's being bullied by a majority of the rest of her class. After learning the full extent of the situation, he and the other Phantom Thieves agree to target Lila's Palace as both a favor and a slightly personal vendetta.
After defeating Lila's Palace and incorporating Marinette and Luka into their group as their first international members, he learns that Marinette is also the famous Parisian hero, Ladybug. Said Parisian entrusts him with the Tiger Miraculous, becoming one of Paris' newest heroes, Amur; later on, he becomes the Pig hero Jinhua, when Marinette gets injured during the fight with Shadow Audrey, she entrusts the Ladybug Miraculous to him, becoming the superhero Harlequin, and later when he drags Catalyst to the Metaverse, he swipes the Peacock Miraculous and becomes the superhero, Kujaku.
- Adaptational Sexuality: In canon, Akira does not have any male Love Interest. Here, he's both bisexual and in a relationship with Ryuji.
- Beneath the Mask: A negative example; while Akira is filling in as “Harlequin,” he figures it only makes sense to follow after Chat Noir and “learn from the experts.” Naturally, he doesn’t allow ANY of that respect to show in his behavior; instead, he shows No Sympathy for Chat not being told Ladybug was benched, exchanges barbs with the Hero of Destruction over his puns, and appoints himself The Strategist without a discussion. Chat internally notes later that the glares he got from “Harlequin” made him feel like he had his father on his team.
- Jerkass to One: While all the Tokies were antagonistic towards Chat Noir, Akira is the most guilty, having SEVERAL Kick the Dog moments towards him, such as flat out telling him that he’s unsure if he can trust him, while they were working together and being the main reason why Chat Noir loses his trust in Ladybug. He finally realizes just how cruel and unfair he was after Chat Noir follows them into Gabriel’s Palace, almost getting killed and awakening his Persona in the process.
- Jerkass Realization: Has this at the beginning of Chapter 118 when he realizes that he was wrong to treat Adrien/Chat Noir the way he had and that he had been unfairly holding his mistake regarding Lila and the well fair of the other Thieves against him, as ultimately, Adrien is still human like them.
- Supporting Protagonist: While the narrative is still primarily from his perspective and he is still the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, the story is primarily about Marinette's recovery via Phantom Thievery.
- Tempting Fate: Upon arriving at an akuma battle as Harlequin without any warning, Akira shuts down Chat Noir's demands for an explanation by telling him to "Have [his] breakdown later" so they could focus on the battle. Unbeknownst to Akira, learning that Ladybug didn't even think to inform him that she would have a substitute coming in actually did serve as Chat Noir's Rage Breaking Point, and the next time he meets with Ladybug, he tells her clearly that he doesn't think that they're teammates anymore.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: He still adheres to this like in canon, but he bluffs Hawk Moth and Catalyst that he is willing to subvert it, something that shocks BOTH of them that Ladybug's willing to recruit someone who has the stones.
Mona
Morgana/Codename: Mona
Arcana: Magician
A mysterious shapeshifting creature with Persona abilities. Morgana has the form and the habits of a cat but claims not to truly be one (and is very vocal about it), trying to find out the secrets to his true form and lost memories.
After learning about his situation with his memories, Marinette and co. decide to help Morgana regain them, even attempting to use the Goat Miraculous (the Miraculous of Imagination) to try and jar anything. Even though the attempt failed, he's grateful for their support.
While due to his unique form he can't wield a Miraculous personally, Ladybug still entrusts him with the job of guarding the Miracle Box during prolonged or mass akuma attacks.
Skull
Ryuji Sakamoto/Codename: Skull/Saruchame, Holder of the Monkey Miraculous
Arcana: Chariot
He connects with Marinette's situation with Lila very personally, as it reminds him of the abuse he was forced to suffer under Kamoshida and is just as livid to learn how the school has done little to nothing to stop the bullying.
After learning her secret identity and joining forces, Ladybug recruits him as the holder of the Monkey Miraculous, joining the fight against Hawk Moth as Saruchame.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Is actually a lot smarter than he looks, pointing out several things in the story.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Canonically displayed an attraction to women. In this fic, he's bisexual and in a relationship with Akira.
- Dumbass Has a Point: He makes several points that the other thieves are surprisingly shocked and impressed with such as:
- He makes a very good point when after escaping Lila’s palace, they should be thanking Lila for her chance meeting her since had they not met her they would never discovered her palace in the first place.
- Another after the interview, when he’s the first to realize that they shouldn’t take the public’s word on how they operate and whose their next target, a far cry from his canon appearance.
- Another one as the Parisians rescue Juleka from her would-be kidnappers, he makes a very good point that they shouldn’t be seen in their hero guises, since the perpetrators now know they’re now on to them. Morgana is actually impressed by his foresight.
Panther
Ann Takamaki/Codename: Panther/Bombshell, Holder of the Turtle Miraculous
Arcana: Lovers
After meeting Marinette and learning about her situation, Ann is gravely reminded of her own situation with Kamoshida, and her regret for not acting sooner to stop the abuse. Hence why she doesn't hesitate to target Lila when the Phantom Thieves discover her Palace.
Due to not only discovering Marinette's hero identity but also because of her kindness and concern towards Marinette, the Parisian entrusts Ann with the Turtle Miraculous, becoming the first of the Phantom Thieves to become a Miraculous Holder under the alias Bombshell.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Canonically, she develops a crush on Joker as the player progresses through her Confidant story. In this fic, she reveals she's asexual, causing Morgana to apologize for his behavior towards her in response.
Fox
Yusuke Kitagawa/Codename: Fox/Kijutsu-shi, Holder of the Fox Miraculous
Arcana: Emperor
He connects with Marinette through their love of art and he comments on her exceptional skill as a designer. He also emphasizes with the Parisian when he learns about the attitudes of her fellow classmates, who are all too willing to believe an illusion rather than face the truth. Very similar to his situation with Madarame.
After integrating the Parisians into the group, Marinette entrusts Yusuke with the Fox Miraculous, dubbing himself Kijutsu-shi, calling for his aid on several occasions, both for akuma attacks and Phantom Thief business. On another occasion, he is loaned the Monkey Miraculous to become Wukong.
Queen
Makoto Niijima/Codename: Queen/Mitsubachi, Holder of the Bee Miraculous
Arcana: Priestess
The Student Council President of Shujin Academy, a third-year known for her rigid morals and sense of responsibility. Makoto is a straight-laced honor student who can't be compromised with... though once she awakens to her Persona, her repressed anger towards injustices shows itself more.
She and Marinette develop a very close sisterly bond upon meeting, becoming very protective of the Parisian just like her fellow Phantom Thieves. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, Makoto counseled the Parisian about her situation at school and helped her realize that she did have a voice and that her opinions about Lila's behavior did matter, especially if she was being hurt by the liar's actions.
After learning of Marinette's hero persona, Makoto is entrusted with the Bee Miraculous, becoming the superheroine, Mitsubachi.
- Ship Tease: With Haru.
Oracle
Futaba Sakura/Codename: Oracle/Vizsla, Holder of the Dog Miraculous
Arcana: Hermit
A 15-year-old Playful Hacker who acts as the Phantom Thieves' Mission Control. Her technological prowess is second to none.
While she doesn't meet Marinette personally until infiltrating Lila's Palace, Futaba is easily able to pull up rather disturbing information about the Italian, which eventually solidifies the team's resolve to target her.
After learning of Marinette's hero identity, she's temporarily entrusted with the Rooster Miraculous, becoming the superheroine, Henhouse. Later on, she swaps it out for the Dog Miraculous, becoming Vizsla.
- Adaptational Gender Identity: Futaba comes out as Non-Binary in Chapter 119.
Rise
Shiho Suzui/Codename: Rise/Hou-ou, Holder of the Rooster Miraculous
Arcana: Thunderbolt (alternate Tower)
- Adaptational Badass: In the original canon, Shiho was just the trigger to the formation of the Phantom Thieves. Here, her Shadow actually forms a mini-Palace, is a boss fight, and she gains a Persona. She also gets entrusted with the Rooster Miraculous.
- Ascended Extra: She joins the Phantom Thieves near the end of chapter 61, awakening to her persona Leda with Rise as her code name.
- Heal the Cutie: Slowly becoming this as the story continues.
- Light 'em Up: Her Persona, Leda, wields light skills in battle.
- Meaningful Name: Her Hero name, Hou-ou, means phoenix. And the phoenix is often symbolized by the bird raising out of the the ashes of its old body, reborn once again.
- Took a Level in Badass: The biggest example of this by far, as she not only awakens to her Persona, Leda, she is also entrusted with the Rooster Miraculous and becomes Hou-ou.
Noire
Haru Okumura/Codename: Noire/Madame Nezumi, Holder of the Mouse Miraculous
Arcana: Empress
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In a way, Haru/Noir. In the game, she is only spoken to briefly during the Hawaii trip before she joins the team. Here, she’s the one who indirectly sets off the Thieves' tirade against Lila when she asks her not to lie about her father’s business.
- Adaptational Name Change: The Parisians know that Noir is the masculine form of the word for black, so it is suggested that Haru add an -e to her canonical name to befit her gender.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: She’s not hostile as she was in canon due to Morgana finally talking out his problems.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In canon, she and Makoto became friends once Haru joined the Phantom Thieves. Here, they were study partners prior to Haru joining, and Haru is much more willing to work with the Phantom Thieves than she initially was since Morgana doesn't abandon the team for the initial part of the Okumura arc. Furthermore, Makoto doesn't have a crush on Haru.
- Protectorate: Makoto's.
Ace
Yuuki Mishima/Codename: Ace/Great Dane, Holder of the Dog Miraculous
Arcana: Moon
- Adaptational Badass: He goes from an ordinary friend of the protagonist to a Persona-wielder and temporary Miraculous wielder here.
- Support Party Member: His Persona, Fenrisúlfr, serves as the team's second navigator, only he provides special elemental attacks here and there.
Parisian Major Targets
General
- Adaptational Villainy: They are all surprisingly worse than they are in canon Miraculous Ladybug, being borderline Hate Sink level, seeing how their canon selves wouldn't be anywhere near nasty enough to have their hearts stolen.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The current Parisian targets have similarities to the first three major targets the Phantom Thieves deal with.
- Lila is one to Suguru Kamoshida: They viewed themselves as rulers of the schools, made their targets social pariahs, lusted over blonde models, manipulated others to their own ends and are the first targets the Thieves deal with in both stories.
- Bustier is one to Ichiryusai Madarame: Both are abusive teachers that just use their students for their own gain, leaving them to suffer while using them to make themselves look better.
- Bob Roth is one to Junya Kaneshiro, as it’s revealed he just sees all of Paris as his Palace (while Kaneshiro saw all of Shibuya as his), and he’s involved in a business which involve sex slavery note . Furthermore, his Shadow Self's final form is animal-themed. He also has a parallel to Shido, given his akumatized form being bigger and far more muscular (although his design was partially inspired by the monstrosity form of N. Brio from Crash Bandicoot).
Lilith (Lila Rossi)
Lila Rossi
The Manipulative Imperatrix of Mendacity, she is the first Parisian the Phantom Thieves target. Her Palace is an Empire at Collége Francoise Dupont.
Her Treasure takes the form of a laurel wreath, which manifests in the real world as a tiara that was meant to be awarded for someone else.
- Big Bad Wannabe: She thinks that she's going to be able to one day usurp Hawk Moth's position and take the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses for herself. Unfortunately for her, she's merely a Starter Villain. That being said, Miraculous canon implies she will (probably) eventually take Hawk Moth's place, though that obviously isn't happening in this story.
- Co-Dragons: Besides Mayura, Lila's been one for Hawk Moth for a long time. Her and Chance's feud is partially portrayed as It's Personal with the Dragon.
- Consummate Liar: As in canon, but she draws the Phantom Thieves (and Haru's) attention by claiming she knew Madarame and Okumura, and both cases they call her out.
- Driven to Suicide: Marinette is not the first student to catch her in her lies. Those who have, however, had their lives ruined by her and this trope was ultimately the result. She's actually PROUD of this.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Her Shadow is a Roman Empress.
- Hate at First Sight: The Tokyo Phantom Thieves all come to despise Lila within minutes of meeting her and witnessing her bullying Marinette. The only reason they didn't go after her heart was that she was a minor, and they were uncomfortable... until they found out disturbing evidence about her. Their qualms left almost immediately.
- Indirect Serial Killer: She drove multiple classmates at her previous schools to suicide, is proud of that fact, and actively tries to do the same to Marinette.
- It's Personal: Lila, like Kamoshida before her, has beef with all four of the Parisian branch's founding members. With Chance, she's made her life a living hell for nearly two and a half years for not worshipping the ground she walks on, and that's not even mentioning Lila's connections with Hawk Moth. With Viper, that's his girlfriend Lila's tortured, and she, in turn, hates him for preventing Marinette from committing suicide like her other victims, and she's manipulated his younger sister. With Beat, once he catches onto her and breaks up with Alya, she blackmails him with pictures that would ruin him and Chance. And with Jack, Lila openly calls her a pawn the Phantom Thieves planned to sacrifice, which pushes Jack's Berserk Button.
- Lust Object: Treats Adrien like a submissive, glorified sex slave.
- Near-Villain Victory: Chance and Viper, much to the horror of EVERYONE present, actually reveals she nearly succeeded in adding Marinette to her suicide victim board.
- One-Winged Angel: Even after her first form's defeat, she somehow manages to Akumatize her own Shadow into a more powerful form.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: None of the Phantom Thieves are okay with her bad-mouthing her cognitive version of Juleka for being a lesbian. Considering most of the Japanese Phantom Thieves are LGBTQ+ themselves, this only upsets them more.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Views herself as a monarh of a school-based Palace protected by corrupt and/or incompetent authority? Check. Has made the protagonist(s) a social pariah by the start of the story? Check. Does her Shadow capture the first two human Phantom Thieves of her nation? Check. Treats an attractive blonde model like a Lust Object? Check. Uses a tech-savvy person to her own ends? Check. Is associated with minors and suicide? Check. Has beef with the founding members of her nation's branch of Phantom Thieves by the time they steal her heart? Check. Is ultimately just a Starter Villain? Check. She's pretty much a Younger and Hipper Distaff Counterpart of Kamoshida.
- The Starscream: Judging by her Cognitive Hawkmoth and Mayura singing her praises, she planned to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses for her own. The Phantom Thieves had to put a stop to that.
- Starter Villain: While not one for the Tokie Phantom Thieves, she is certainly this for the Parisian Phantom Thieves, and is treated as such for the fic.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Is a sociopath who willing to manipulate other students into bullying her chosen victims for her and is proud that they kill themselves after she leaves.
- What You Are in the Dark: Part of her Shadow's "harvest" has her listening to the dreams of her cognitive classmates... and then cruelly mock them, saying what they want to hear, and throwing them aside. It shows how little she cares about them.
Abyzou (Caline Bustier)
Caline Bustier
The Callous False-Educator of Apathy, Mme. Bustier is the second Major Parisian target. Her Palace is also Collége Francoise Dupont, but this time a Prison in which she is a warden.
Her Treasure takes the form of a painting of her kissing her ex-husband, which manifests in the real world as a picture of their wedding day.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Mme. Bustier apparently never made even the slightest attempt to verify any of Lila's excuses for when she cut class, simply accepting Lila's excuse that her mother was too busy with her work at the embassy to be bothered by a phone call. Again somewhat of an exaggeration from canon, as she never seemed to check Lila's excuses in "Chameleon".
- Apathetic Teacher: It's her sin.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Bustier genuinely believes she's a good teacher, despite the evidence to the contrary. It's to the point her Shadow dresses like a military officers, and wears medals on her uniform... meanwhile, Bob Roth's Shadow, who also dresses like a soldier, has NO medals because he KNOWS he's doing something illegal.
- Broken Pedestal: While the cracks were definitely there for Marinette, by the end of the Palace, all respect she had for her homeroom teacher had crumbled into dust.
- Control Freak: Very much so. She tries to make her students take career paths that are not suitable for them in order to have a diverse class, forces bullying victims to forgive their bullies to ‘keep the peace’ and to ‘be a good example’ and uses Marinette as a scapegoat for both Chloe and Lila simply because she didn’t want to be bothered with stopping them. This actually comes up during the battle with her, as she’s able to take control of half of the Thieves.
- Crazy-Prepared: Befitting of a teacher who has to prepare lesson plans ahead of time, she seems to know what the Phantom Thieves are going to do before they do it, and it makes things harder for them. She even tricked them into going after two worthless objects instead of her real Treasure before making the mistake of showing them her Treasure.
- Creepy Doll: Her cognitive versions of her class are all porcelain dolls... many of whom have cracks on them or have outright broken depending on how badly they've left her expectations of them. Her cognitive Marinette is cracked all over, while her Chloé and Lila have broken beyond all repair and are dubbed failures, and her Adrien is in perfect condition.
- Fisher King: Even amongst Palace rulers, Bustier is somehow able to influence the weather of her Palace through whatever emotion she's feeling. The more frustrated or concerned her real-world self is, the more stormy the weather.
- I Shall Taunt You: Always seems to be one step ahead of the Phantom Thieves her entire Palace, mocking them over the loudspeaker.
- It's All About Me: Her entire motivation. She has been for years trying to ride the coattails of her successful students to become famous enough to get back with her ex-husband and son, regardless of what her students want and/or need.
- Love Freak: Pretends to be this, telling her students to be accepting of others and to forgive each other. In reality, she just doesn’t want to be bothered with stopping the bullying herself.
- Meet the New Boss: Part of the reason why the Phantom Thieves target her is that with Damocles fired for his incompetence and leaving the position of principal open, Bustier is a highly likely candidate for the job, and Marinette realizes/fears that Bustier in the position will come with more of the same she's had to deal with between Lila and Chloé, if not worse since Bustier is at this point barely hiding her intolerance of Marinette's refusal to forgive her classmates and especially Lila, and by extension her.
- Missing Mom: Is Nathaniel’s mother, having abandoned him and his father when he was very young.
- Related in the Adaptation: She turns out to be Nathaniel's biological mother.
- Straw Hypocrite: Despite presenting herself as a loving teacher who wants everyone to get along, she pretty much allows and subtly encourages blatant bullying in her class, Ladybug overhearing Bustier scoffing at Team Miraculous' anti-bullying interview. Not helping is her own selfish desire to use the fame of her students to put herself in an advantageous position to return to the family she left behind.
- Wardens Are Evil: Her Palace is a prison, and she's the warden in charge. Do the math.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Downplayed in that she's not physically abusive, but she's all but outright demanding Marinette to forgive Lila after the latter's confession, repeatedly placing the information Marinette would need to contact Lila on Marinette's desk. It becomes more blatant in hindsight she's only doing it to make herself look good.
Beleth (Bob Roth)
Bob Roth
The Impudent Director of Audacity, Bob Roth is the third major Parisian Target. His Palace is a Jungle that runs all over Paris.
His Treasure takes the form of a gold statue, which manifests in the real world as a copy of Jagged Stones' last album.
- Abusive Parents: Is revealed to be one to XY when the Phantom Thieves encounter Shadow XY, who tells them of his father’s abuse.
- Arch-Enemy: Luka's, Jagged Stone's, and, in a way, one for Marinette and implicitly Juleka. For the former at least, this seems to be mutual since the events of "Silencer".
- At Least I Admit It: Unlike Bustier's Shadow, who wears medals with pride, believing she is a good teacher despite all evidence to the contrary, Bob Roth's Shadow has no such medals on his uniform, despite him dressing similarly. For Akira, this is admitting he KNOWS what he's doing is wrong but doesn't care... it's probably his only redeeming quality otherwise.
- Dirty Coward: Is as cowardly in the Metaverse as he is in the real world, scrambling to escape once his quarry fights back.
- Evil Poacher: His Shadow is dressed as a hunter in a jungle, who hunts and harvests young women.
- Human Traffickers: His side business.
- I Have Your Wife: XY reveals this was a partial motivation in Juleka's kidnapping. He plans to ransom her to Luka and his mother... only to sell her off to someone in Germany, anyway.
- It's Personal: Can easily be seen as Luka’s archenemy: In canon, Bob had stolen ideas from Kitty Section in the past and had tried to threaten Marinette into keeping quiet by threatening her career, resulting in Luka’s akumatizion into Silencer. Here, he’s very heavily implied to have arranged for Luka’s younger sister to be kidnapped just to put her into a human trafficking ring. This was, as revealed by XY himself, as a result of the events of "Silencer".
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: XY reveals after finding out he was thwarted in his attempts by the heroes, Bob Roth has been using the time between his upcoming trial and the initial attempt to stock up on weaponry in case the heroes attempt to thwart his second attempt. Marinette, who has never fought anyone armed with real guns, before, actually shudders at the thought.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Roth had XY's own mother, a woman who was 20 years younger than him, kidnapped and impregnated. Judging by the above, he was planning on doing something similar to Juleka.
- Refuge in Audacity: To the point that it is his SIN. Not only does he blatantly steal music and threaten to ruin careers regardless of who's witnessing, he later attempts to have Juleka kidnapped in one of his own vans, and is planning on bribing the judge of his trial against his own son, having ANOTHER girl kidnapped in the meantime. He also is the first villain to openly plan to use live guns against Miraculous-users, stockpiling just to do that. He also is revealed to have kidnapped the mother of his own son, and plans to use the guns he's about to get to take over Paris with a small army so he can operate in the open. His boss fight is also very graphic, as well.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: XY thinks he's going to bribe the judge of his upcoming trial to side with him.
- Stalker without a Crush: Has Juleka followed for his "side business".
- Would Hit a Girl: In his Palace, his cognition views women as wild boars with humanoid heads for him and his Shadow minions to hunt.
- Would Hurt a Child: Friendly reminder, Juleka is approximately 15... and that STILL doesn't stop Roth from attempting to have her kidnapped and tried to sell her off to someone in Germany. He also did the same for XY's mom, when she was a university student while he had at least 20 years on her.
Medea (Audrey Bourgeois)
Audrey Bourgeois
The Haughty Perpetrator of Egocentircity, Audrey Bourgeois is the fourth major Parasian Target. Her Palace is a Theater at Le Grand Paris.
Her Treasure is unknown, but manifests in the real world as a copy of the first edition of Style Queen.
- Flunky Boss: Summons cognitive versions of various Akumas for her fight, before using a cognitive Miracle Queen as her ultimate weapn.
- Killed Off for Real: In order to protect his secret identity, Gabriel uses a massive swarm of Scarlet Akuma's to rip her arms and legs off which winds up killing her as a result.
- Parental Neglect: She can't even remember her daughters' names, and is frequently absent. Her plan to bring Chloe back to Paris also shows a frightening lack of awareness of how hated her older daughter is, or just a lack of care. This looks even worse when it’s revealed that she used Chloe as an easily akumatizable weapon to help Gabriel.
Akuma (Hawk Moth/Gabriel Agreste)
Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth, Wielder Of The Butterfly Mirculous
The Desperate Monarch of Delusion. Gabriel Agreste is the fifth and final major Parasian Target. His palace is a Cathedral at The Agreste Manor.
His Treasure takes the form of a book of holy text, which manifests in the real world as a tourist brochure for Tibet, which is where he took Emilie for their honeymoon.
- Abusive Parents: Even discounting the fact that he’s a supervillain, Gabriel is an extremely strict and controlling father towards Adrien, and the majority of Adrien’s issues directly stem from Gabriel’s treatment. Fittingly, his Shadow self views Adrien as nothing more than a robotic doll, not unlike the Corporobos. Eventually, Bunnyix warns that if Gabriel’s heart isn’t changed in time, he would akumatize Adrien into Chat Blanc in a desperate bid to win, showing that Gabriel will cross the one line in the sand if he thinks it would benefit him.
- All for Nothing: Murders Audrey to protect his identity, but Ladybug reveals she already knows it, and now has more reason than ever to come after him.
- Godzilla Threshold: Ladybug knows who he is, and has made it clear she's coming for him. Granted, he doesn't know she's infiltrating his mind and heart with the other Phantom Thieves, but the confrontation is inevitable. If enough time is allowed to pass, he will become so desperate to win that he'll cross the one line he's refused to cross this entire time: deliberately targeting Adrien, and akumatize him into Chat Blanc, destroying the world and most of the human race.
- Seeks Another's Resurrection: His ultimate goal is to bring his wife back to life, regardless of the consequences.
- Too Much Alike: The reason why Akechi tried to murder him after the Phantom Thieves defeat his Shadow: He had secretly infiltrated his Palace and realized just how similar Gabriel was to Masayoshi Shido, even correctly identifying that Gabriel would just use Adrien before tossing him aside.
Other Characters
Alya Cesaire
Alya Cesaire
- Adaptational Jerkass: She goes from being Marinette's best friend in canon to a mindlessly obedient Beta Bitch to Lila, turning on and tormenting Marinette. She also expects Marinette to instantly and completely forgive her after she apologizes, and then acts like Marinette's the one with the problem when she refuses. She's such a jerkass in the fic that Marinette declares her to be unworthy of wielding a Miraculous, and strips her of her status as Rena Rouge.
- Broken Pedestal: She takes Bustier’s confession the hardest after learning about her crimes, especially when she looked up to her the most.
- Easily Forgiven: She fully expects Marinette to easily forgive her for her past actions while following Lila.
- Entitled to Have You: Feels entitled to Marinette’s forgiveness and her friendship, while ignoring the fact she had turned on Marinette right away in favor of Lila.
- Heel–Face Turn: Becomes this after her change of heart.
- Ship Sinking: Is revealed to have broken up with Nino when he joins the Phantom Thieves. However, they are considering becoming Amicable Exes.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Marinette. Marinette is considering repairing this bridge.
Sae Niijima
Sae Niijima
- Audience Surrogate: Just like in canon, she's learning about the Phantom Thieves' Targets as she listens to the story. Only this time, she's learning about Paris' targets.
- Everyone Has Standards: She is very disgusted by Bob Roth’s ‘other business’ and smirks when she sees Akira showing his disapproval as well during her interrogation of him. She also admits that Ms.Bustier was a terrible teacher and wouldn’t have stopped her mistreatment if she wasn’t stopped after hearing the whole story.
Igor
Igor
- Foreshadowing: His true nature as the evil god Yaldabaoth is foreshadowed when Ziggy is shown to be unnerved while in the Velvet Room.
Goro Akechi/Black Mask
Goro Akechi/Black Mask
- Abusive Parents: Like in canon, his father, Shido, is fully exploiting him as an assassin, while planning on getting rid of him once he is elected to Prime Minister. This ends up playing a big part on why he tries to kill Gabriel (getting himself exposed in the process) as he correctly guessed that Gabriel would do the same to Adrien.
- Assassination Attempt: Played With: While Rogue was able to stop him before he could do anything, Akechi still planned on murdering Gabriel by killing his Shadow Self as Gabriel reminded him too much of his father.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Was temporarily entrusted with the Bee Miraculous by Ladybug.
