Characters / Shining Nikki

A new timeline brings a lot of new - old? - people, so here is a list of the (several) characters appearing in Shining Nikki.

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Nikki and her companions

For tropes applying to Love Nikki, please refer to Love Nikki - Dress Up Queen characters page.

Nikki

"If everything can start anew, I want to change it, no matter... What price must be paid..."

Chinese: 暖暖 Nuǎnnuǎn
Japanese: ニキ Niki

A pink-haired girl who dreams of being a great stylist. Originally from Earth, Nikki was summoned to Miraland in order to save it from destruction. Unfortunately, she loses her memory from travelling in time, forgetting why she needed to travel to the past in the first place.

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• Ambiguously Bi: Based on the individual player's gender (whether male, female, otherwise, etc.), Nikki might possibly be perceived as this as she bonds and gradually develops an intimate relationship with the player throughout her journeys.
• Apocalypse Maiden: SAVIOR believes Nikki to be this at first, given her connection with Leonid and the activation of several powerful artifacts across Miraland; they believe her to be Leonid's envoy sent to destroy Miraland and as such they assign Loen to kill her. It took him and Lolory to convince them that Nikki was meant to save Miraland.
• Bizarre Taste in Food: Certain dialogues in Nikki's room and her Moments posts reveal she's very fond of... Questionable recipes, including "coke noodles" and "milk chicken wings".
• The Chosen One: Is known by some characters to be the one chosen by Leonid to rid Miraland of its impending doom.
• Comedic Underwear Exposure: Finishing Lilith's Telosma's Kiss outfit triggers a dialogue in Nikki's room, which begins with Nikki embarrassed to be caught in a sheer^note In the Taiwanese server; every other server censored the outfit making it opaque negligee and promptly declaring she is going to change into more proper clothes.
• Easy Amnesia: Her memory is lost after travelling to the past, but is quickly regained after her first Styling Contest in Miraland's past. All except, one, however: her fate.
• Fashion Hurts: Upon finishing Loen's Glimmering Vines outfit, Nikki will comment in her room that even though the dress makes her waist sore and it's tiring to even stand in the high heels, she wants to keep wearing it because of how it looks.
  Nikki: It’s pretty hard being elegant, my waist hurts a little...
  You: Yes! Elegance is tiresome.
  Nikki: High heels are so tiring... I feel exhausted even just standing or walking like this. But I still want to wear it for a while more, it looks so pretty...
• Girly Skirt Twirl: Nikki does this if you dress her in Feiya's Drawing of Amusement outfit.
• Magical Accessory: Her snowflake necklace is said to be her key to enter Miraland.
• Red Baron: The most powerful people in Miraland know Nikki as Leonid's Heir.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: The CG for one of the stages by the end of chapter 6 shows Nikki this way, a sign of her possession through Mercury's shadow.
• Ship Tease: Retains a close relationship with the player, with many of her lines towards reading quite flirty towards both male and female players.
• Showgirl Skirt: Star Sea has a wide and voluminous skirt, as expected from a ballgown; except it's cut so that the skirt leaves Nikki's legs nearly fully exposed in the front, like an opening theater curtain.
• Star-Spangled Spandex: The aforementioned Star Sea makes great use of the new 3D medium to make the underside of the skirt look like a very sparkly starry sky complete with occasional shooting stars.

Momo

Chinese: 大喵 Dàmiāo
Japanese: モモ Momo

Nikki's chubby feline companion.

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• Big Eater: Three out of two of Momo's lines are about eating or buying food.
• Cats Are Snarkers: Time travel didn't make Momo any less caustic; he will still snark at Nikki every time you get an F.

Loen

Chinese: 洛昂 Luòáng
Japanese: ロアン Roan

A freelance mercenary who roams the seven nations of Miraland taking all sorts of commissions. Once a soldier for Apple Federation's independence army, Loen became a national legend as Major Snowhawk.

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• The Alcoholic: He is pretty fond of his alcohol - so much his favourite drink is lemon gardenia champagne. In Glittering Date, Serena's younger brother bribes Loen into taking him to Lodden with a bottle of his family's homemade wine.
• Badass Driver: Loen is capable of riding anything with manual control, up to and including gigantic cruise ships.
• Childhood Friends: With Vermillion Snow and her sister.
• Child Soldier: Loen fought the Apple independence war when he was 13. At 17, after the end of the war, he became a mercenary.
• Drowning My Sorrows: In Scarlet Banquet, Loen is in a bar trying to cope with the memories of his dead soldier friends. Appropriately, this is how he meets Zoey.
• Knight Errant: Once a deemed a war hero, Loen now lives his life roaming around Miraland as a mercenary, in a quest to bring peace and justice to the continent.
• Military Brat: Both his father and grandfather were high-rank officers in Apple's army.
• Old Shame: Loen doesn't think too fondly of his soldier days, from swearing off his grandfather's gun to pawning his war medal.

The Player

A friend of Nikki from Earth whose consciousness got merged with hers in the Ark.

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• A God Is You: Volume 2 reveals the player is Miraland's deity of styling and beauty.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Everyone in Miraland refers to the player by their defined username.
• True Companions: This with Nikki, with Nikki often offering the player compliments and support.

Apple Federation

Helz

"One day, I will build my own fashion empire, so that everyone will be able to come to my store to buy clothes that they like and define their own fashion. And overtake Mercury Group!"

Chinese: 海哲 Hǎizhé
Japanese: アキラ Akira

The founder of the Apple Federation Apparel Group, a small clothing store in Flowerland. He is one of the first people Nikki meets in her journey across the past Miraland.

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• Height Angst: The "height" entry in Helz's file in the Facebook page says he refused to tell his height. He is 160cm, same as Nikki.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Even though currently the Apple Apparel Group is nothing more than a small corner store, Helz always speaks as if it were a company as big as the Mercury Group.
  Helz: I came as a representative of the Apple Federation Apparel Group for the new season’s fashion show.
  Momo: Representative? Aren’t you the only person in the group?
  Helz: ...
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Shawn; they met through a fist fight in Shadow Square, according to the Diamond Star memories.

Serena

"That's right, I'm a small-town girl from the Pigeon countryside. But that won't stop me from achieving my dreams."

A young Pigeonian woman who moved to Lodden in hopes of becoming a top model.

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• Country Mouse: She describes herself in one of Dreamy Violet's voice lines as "a countryside girl in the big city".
• Ship Tease: With Helz, heavily. One Moments post even has a picture of them side by side, with the text calling him "a suspected boyfriend".
  • The post unlocked by pulling Loen's Glittering Date reflection, which has Serena publicly fawning over Loen, refers to this as well: you have the choice to tease Helz by tagging him in the comments.
• Weight Loss Horror: Helz's Morning Breeze reflection states Serena was severely underweight when they first met, to the point she fainted from malnourishment; he jokes later by saying she looked like bamboo ready to be pushed by the wind, remark that Serena herself paraphrases in her Dreamy Violet reflection.

Charmonroe

"This month alone I’ve already been interviewed five times about Bunny Girl. I almost want to throw up."

Chinese: 夏夢露 Xiàmènglù (Xia Monroe)
Japanese: ノエル Noeru (Noelle)

A software developer from Apple Federation, specialized on sexy designs. She is usually mocked by her colleagues for being "too petite to be sexy"; as such, her design philosophy is that anyone can be sexy regardless of body type.

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• Playboy Bunny: One of her famous designs is literally this. Much to her dismay, it's all most people remember.
• Punny Name: Her name appears to be a portmanteau of "charm" and "Monroe".

Ai

"Maybe one day... I can go to school with Charmonroe."

Chinese: 愛衣 Àiyī
Japanese: アイ Ai

A program Charmonroe developed as the Perfect Figure project, which somehow became sentient and very fond of highschools.

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• Casting Gag: In the Japanese server, the virtual fashion creator has the same voice as a famous virtual singer.
• Kiss Me, I'm Virtual: Inverted; she is strongly implied to be romantically infatuated with Charmonroe, her very human creator.
• Punny Name: The characters in her Chinese name mean "love clothes", which is pronounced the same way as "AI" in Chinese.

Mayor Rodel

"Construction will be starting up soon— Shadow Bridge is the greatest proof of Apple Federation’s strength!"

The mayor of Shadowflow, and Loen's wartime companion.

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• Brainwashed and Crazy: For a short moment during the beginning of chapter 3; Rodel was brainwashed by Vulture into driving the car with Nikki, Momo and Loen through the lifted Shadow Bridge.

The Ark

Aeon

"Every article of clothing has the feelings and memories of the designer. These memories and feelings create the designer’s reflection in the Ocean of Memories."

Chinese: 宙 Zhòu
Japanese: 宙 Sora

The oldest of the Ark siblings, tasked with keeping the place in working order.

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• Gadget Watch: The watch Aeon wears serves a number of purposes, such as being an interface for the Ark and sensors to monitor Miraland and the Ocean of Memories.
• Meaningful Name: Both his Chinese and Japanese names mean "universe"; in English, his name is synonym with "eternity" or "an absurdly long period of time".

Marina

"Ahh! I wasn’t making trouble! Brother, brother, put me down!"

Chinese: 海 Hǎi
Japanese: 海 Umi

The youngest of the Ark siblings, Marina is tasked with collecting designer concepts, which are fragments left by people's feelings in the Ocean of Memories.

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• Meaningful Name: Her name is related to "sea" in every language.

Leonid

"It is time for Miraland’s story to come to a close."

Chinese: 李爾里德 Lǐěrlǐdé
Japanese: リアリド Riarido

A mysterious designer of legendary power, protagonist to many tales and myths in Miraland. Leonid is the one who brought the designer reflections to existence.

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• Meaningful Name: Leonid is the name of a meteor shower originating from the Leo constellation, which happens in November and peaks every 33 years.

Justiciars

Zoey

"You want my weapon? My army? Or... Me?"

Chinese: 左一 Zuǒyī
Japanese: フェア Fia

The daughter of a Northern warlord, Zoey is the greatest arms dealer in Miraland, who leads the Justiciars, a huge group of outcasts that acts as her personal army.

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• Ambiguously Bi: According to Nikki, in Zoey's Mercenary Queen shadow files — the entry titled "Previous Boyfriends":
  Zoey's hunting range is very broad.
  There is no shortage of good men or women around her.
  From the charming business partner,
  To the energetic generals of the enemy,
  Or the stunning beauty that appeared by chance.
  Be sincerely invested in every relationship,
  But never engaged; come and go freely at your heart's desire.
  I heard... You want to play a game with the Queen of Arms too?
  • Likewise, Gold Gilt Dream shows Zoey also has a few words about Nikki herself, with her explicitly stating that Nikki would be "an interesting prey" if she were a little sexier.
• A Mother to Her Men
• Arms Dealer: Zoey's main occupation ever since leaving her father's army; it earns her the moniker of "Queen of Arms".
• Child Soldier: Zoey first led an army at 12 years old, to escape a war prison.
• Dominatrix: A domineering warlady with a fondness for leather and whips.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: The left leg of her pants is cut close to the hip so that part of her lacy pantyhose shows.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Her Scorching Twilight dress.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Zoey's default outfit and her crafting suit from chapter 8 are a few examples.
• Ms. Fanservice: As much as one can be without showing too much skin, at least. In addition to her default outfit - a tight turtleneck tank top torn at her (quite generous) cleavage with a pair of waist-fitting leather pants with one leg cut at the groin and sewn into a thigh-high boot - every other CG makes a point of highlighting her curves and volumes.
• Really Gets Around: Rumours have it that Zoey "changes boyfriends as often as she changes clothes". She doesn't really deny it.
• Whip of Dominance: Zoey is shown holding a whip in nearly every CG she is in, complementing her image as a Dominatrix warlord.

Yeeso

"Hey, you can’t go out yet. If you take two steps and faint again, the commander will yell at me."

Chinese: 葉索 Yèsuǒ
Japanese: イディン Idin

Another member of Zoey's inner circle. He is the sole heir of a noble Pigeon family.

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• Overly Long Name: To fit with his noble origins; his full name is Sirant Elnoya Pariola Yeeso.

Caprico

"If you want something, then you must pay the price. If you want power… then you must give up something."

Chinese: 魔羊 Móyáng
Japanese: アリエス Ariesu (Aries)

The Justiciars' recluse gadgeteer. A man of genius-level IQ (219), who was banned from Ruin Island for his transhumanist experiences, and found shelter in Zoey's army. Is later revealed to be one of the five envoys of the Deity of Styling, representing the sexy attribute.

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• Gadgeteer Genius: Caprico is the Justiciars' main engineer, responsible for their weapons R&D.
• Game Master: The plot for the Marvelous Halloween event has Caprico working as the DM for a game among the Justiciars, Nikki, the player and Momo.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Doesn't remember that he's an envoy.
• Meaningful Name: In every language, his name makes reference to sheeps or goats: in Chinese, his name means "demonic sheep", while his Japanese name means "ram" in Latin. His English name refers to Capricorn, the constellation of the horned goat.
• Mr. Fanservice: His default sprite has him shirtless beneath the jacket, which reveals his rather buff physique, along with certain cybernetic implements.
• Professor Guinea Pig: His prosthetic leg was installed by himself as part of his experiment on perfecting humanity.

Ninir Kingdom

Lilith a.k.a Ashley

"I want true love! Love from the bottom of their souls! I want everyone to wholeheartedly crawl at my feet and offer their hearts!"

^{Click here to see her past self} "If evil is beauty, why don't I become the devil?"

Chinese: 莉莉斯 Lìlìsī
Japanese: リリス Ririsu
As Ashley:
Chinese: 灰灰草 Huīhuīcǎo
Japanese: ノアール Noāru (Noire)

The young and unearthly beautiful queen of Ninir. Once a girl named Ashley, she got her good looks after setting the Starheaven Swan stage on fire during the city's tournament, which attracted Nightbane into offering her a deal: her soul for beauty and love.

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• Abusive Parents: The couple who adopted Ashley saw her as little other than the house maid, which lead to years of abuse by their part.
• And I Must Scream: Ashley lived the years after the fire as a silent personality while Lilith controlled her actions. When Desire throws her in the Abyss during the epilogue of the first volume, Ashley is all too eager to let the darkness consume her until the old musician and the blind girl's memories pulled her out of it.
• Break the Cutie: Her childhood in Starheaven was traumatic, to say the least. The constant abuse by her adoptive parents, sister and other children slowly wore away her kindness and hope.
• Changeling Tale: In the background story for her "Telosma's Kiss" reflection, she shows up at the doorstep of Mr. and Mrs. Glay, whose daughter Lizzy is about the same age and looks very similar. Lilith enchants the family with her charm, and one of them comments that it's like having another Lizzy; Lilith and Lizzy have a sleepover together. During the evening, the Demon works his magic, and when Lilith and Lizzy wake up, Lilith has managed to assume Lizzy's identity, while Lizzy becomes a stranger.
• Closet Punishment: Not much of a punishment but a constant treatment: Ashley's "room" was a closet in her parents' house.
• Curtains Match the Window: Both her eyes and hair are gray.
• Dark Magical Girl: She had a horrible past and acts as a Foil to Stock Shoujo Heroine Nikki.
• Deal with the Devil: The constant mistreatment of Ashley by her adoptive family (and the rest of the city) leads her to set Starheaven's theater on fire during the Starheaven Swan Tournament, which is enough to impress Nightbane into offering her a deal: her soul, years of her expected lifespan and any satisfaction she could possibily have in exchange of inhuman beauty and the love of everyone. Thus, Lilith is born.
  • The Goddess of Desire later points out a flaw in the deal - anyone who falls for her either disappears or dies - and exploits it to offer Lilith a bigger deal: her free will for everlasting love.
• Demonic Possession: Happens to Lilith during her reelection ceremony as part of the process to summon the Goddess of Desire.
• Driven to Suicide: Ashley never planned to survive the fire she set; rather, it was her means to "escape the world that never loved her". It backfired when Lilith's consciousness took over and made the deal with Nightbane.
• Generic Cuteness: You can't really tell Ashley is supposed to be hideous just by looking at her CGs. Then again, this may be less because Ashley is actually meant to be ugly and more because she exists in the Ninir Kingdom, which has extremely high standards and such a deep obsession with beauty that they choose their leaders based on beauty and that pretty people can get things for free just for being attractive.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: While not really unexpected from a teenager who had just set the stage on fire during a beauty pageant, Lilith engaged on rather nefarious activities in her reign, such as having mobs physically assault detractors in order to treat them personally later to gain their favour, seducing a priest into worshipping her and kidnapping her own past self.
• Happy Holidays Dress: Her Christmas Frosting outfit, of the Lolita variant. Red? Check. White fur? Check. Snow, bells and gift boxes motif? Check. It even includes a candy cane.
• Kill It with Fire: Ashley decided to take revenge on her sister Paisley by setting the Starheaven Swan stage on fire with her on it.
• Literal Split Personality: Setting fire to Starheaven's stage during the tournament split Ashley's mind into two independent consciousnesses: Ashley and Lilith, the latter subduing the former and seizing full control of the body. The events of Dawn Duel caused Ashley's consciouness to materialize as an independent body.
• Living Memory: The events of Dawn Duel somehow made Ashley's reflection powerful enough to leave its mirror and the Ark.
• Meaningful Name: Ashley's Chinese name means "gray grass", driving further the point that she is supposed to be unattractive as a patch of dry foliage.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Lilith's possession by Desire gives Lilith her red eyes.
• Star-Spangled Spandex: Ashley's Meteoric Feather is a sparkly blue outfit, with the dress and the purse having a starry night sky effect to them.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Being constantly mistreated by the "beautiful" people of Starheaven led Ashley to take this turn.
  Ashley: If evil is beautiful, why don't I become the devil?
• Widow's Weeds: Lilith wears a black dress with a hat obscuring the upper half of her face to attend the old musician's funeral.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The somewhat sinister ruler of Ninir Kingdom and once the poor abused young girl Ashley.

Joy

"Come, girl, come to Silvermoon Lake. The ripples are the stage, the starry night is the curtain."

Chinese: 阿歡 Ā-huān
Japanese: ジョイス Joisu (Joyce)

A young rower girl who works ferrying people across the Silvermoon lake.

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• Break the Cutie: Chapter 4, with Qin Yi's puppeteering her into fighting Nikki, which severely harms Joy. We find out in later chapters that this was just another in a series of traumatic events for her.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: The aforementioned scene. As it turns out, she was it all along as part of Mercury's experiments on designer reflections and Qin Yi's meddling was just a override.
• Broken Bird: She drops the bubbly façade as soon as she manages to get a grip on Nikki near the end of chapter 8, revealing a far more serious - and traumatized - persona.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: While under custody of the Justiciars near the end of chapter 9, Joy's memories of what happened get mysteriously wiped; all the people guarding her report of unusual is hearing a song that made them slightly drowzy. Modric's Journey of Memory reveals he was the one who wiped Joy's memories of her own accord.
• Stepford Smiler: Her default sprite is constantly smiling, hiding the traumatized wreck she became after being delivered by her own father for Mercury to experiment on.
• Uncanny Valley Girl: The cute and lively boat girl is just a façade for one of Mercury's brainwashed agents.
• Walking Spoiler: You probably noticed by now, but most of her backstory are spoilers.

Lolory

"Nice to meet you, did you have fun today? Did you feel my... Elegance?"

Chinese: 洛洛梨 Luòluòlí
Japanese: ロロリ Rorori

Lolory is the a freelance model, assistant and an administrator at the Stylist Guild. A former Starheaven Swan, she is commonly known as "the elegance ambassador of Ninir".

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• Badass Biker: Her interest (and skill) in riding motorcyles wasn't lost to her years as the ambassador of elegance.
• Character Catchphrase: When accessing the Guild's main page:
  • "No matter what time it is in the Guild, I will always greet you with 'Good morning', 'Good afternoon', 'Good evening', and 'How about a cup of tea?' "
  • Did you come specifically to hear my greetings? 'Good morning ', 'Good afternoon', 'Good evening', and 'Keep up the good work.' "
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her overall style, with her main outfit being a classic Lolita dress; the Midnight Elegance outfit is a more literal example, based on her highschool past as a rebellious goth girl.
• Fashion Hurts: Lolory says in her Daisy's Diary memories that in order to participate in the Starfeather Swan tournament she practiced an elegant posture in front of a mirror until her feet were numb.
  Lolory: I turned around in front of the mirror, adjusted every posture, practiced the perfect smile, the most elegant standing, the best arch of the head, and the firmest speed at which I picked up the tea cup and put it down. My feet are a bit numb, but I'm not tired at all.
• Former Teen Rebel: Both Daisy's Diary and Midnight Elegance give us a little insight of Lolory's... Less than exemplary teenage years.
• Meido: Her Teresa Afternoon Tea outfit is a maid dress she designed for her role as the princess' maid in a play, complete with a tea set on a tray.
• Office Lady: When not acting as "the elegant ambassador of Ninir", Lolory works part-time as an assistant and spy for the Stylist Guild; naturally, her outfit changes to match her job, with a black wig tied into a bun, a blue formal pencil skirt, and a blue blazer over a white blouse and a black waistcoat.
• Older Than They Look: While Lolory looks like she's still in her early twenties, several reflections imply that she is halfway through her forties.
• Spirited Young Lady: Lolory's demeanor is all about elegance; from her way of smiling to talking to even taking a cup of tea, she even mentions practicing to exhaustion being as proper a lady as she can... When in public. Behind the cameras, Lolory is shown to be far more free-spirited, between blood-stained letters, spying, speeding on a stolen motorcycle and leaving her house a mess.
• Tea Is Classy: Nearly every CG of Lolory depicts her holding a cup of tea; she even mentions practicing the right speed to elegantly grab a cup.
• True Blue Femininity: Her default outfit is predominantly white and blue with a flower motif and little blue bows on the blouse sleeves. Likewise, her guild uniform is mostly blue, as well as Ode to Time and the recolour for Honey Lemon Tea.
• Vague Age: And it's better left this way, according to her...
  Lolory: How old am I? Sssh... Secrets make a woman charming.

Old Hendrill

"Go stand on that stage. Wear the outfit you designed. Sing that song... Go summon that long-lost meteor shower."

A famous musician from Starheaven who took Ashley under his wing.

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• Scatterbrained Senior: The Starheaven Swan fire triggered Alzheimer's disease on Hendrill, who spent the last two years in a hospital room mistaking anyone - including Nikki - for Ashley.

Vivian

"You’re right! The “Fashion Nova Bunny” is none other than myself."

Chinese: 薇薇安 Wēiwēiān
Japanese: ヴィヴィ Vivi

A journalist from Starheaven, constantly looking for the next great scoop.

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• Foreign Correspondent: Vivian and Beixi are constantly assigned to report from Wasteland.
• Intrepid Reporter: She's the one running the Designer Intel Hub, conducting interviews with other designers so you can obtain their works and reflections.

Paisley

"It was her! She summoned the demon! That ugly thing, she’s ruined my life!"

Ashley's adoptive sister. Once a beautiful (if rotten) girl, her beauty was burned away in the fire Ashley set in the Starheaven Swan stage.

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• Break the Haughty: Paisley's pride was in her beauty, said to be remarkable (unlike her voice and pretty much anything else, which are said to be ordinary); the fire Ashley set on the Starheaven Swan stage stripped it off her, pushing Paisley into a traumatic descent into madness.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: The reveal that the gorgeous queen Lilith is actually her adoptive sister Ashley ended any chance of Paisley recovering from the fire into a normal, if ordinary, life, and instead sent her head first into a life of wandering the streets of Ninir screaming words against the queen.

Mr Ande

"Those who are beautiful should receive special treatment."

One of the judges of the Starheaven Swan tournament, and a respected stylist in the Guild. A rather arrogant man who, like most of Starheaven, values external beauty above everything else.

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• Defeat Means Friendship: Being repeatedly defeated by Nikki earned her his respect.

Cloud Empire

Qin Yi

"This world is not governed by beauty or by pain. Your emotions are absolutely insignificant. Those with strength have the power to rule everything."

Chinese: 秦衣 Qín yī
Japanese: 秦衣 Jin'i

A famous actor from Cloud, owner of the Neverfall Troupe. A shady man said to have eyes and ears everywhere in Miraland (except for Rosset).

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• Bad People Abuse Animals: In his Mind Maze story, he kills his pet goldfish for dramatic effect during a play meant to impress his "parents" into taking him into their household.
• Distinguishing Mark: Exploited: his butterfly "birthmark", used to identify him as the long-lost heir to a prominent theatrical family, is actually a tattoo over his actual birthmark.
• Knowledge Broker: The knowledge gathered by the Neverfall Troupe is sold to many organizations or used by Qin Yi to further his own agenda. The Mercury Group is one of his main clients.
• Villain with Good Publicity: To the public, he's a famous and charming performer. To Miraland's underworld he's a major source of intel, with eyes and ears everywhere (except for Rosset).

Yexiao

"I should return as well. Mimi should be hungry."

Chinese: 夜宵 Yèxiāo
Japanese: 夜宵 Yayoi

A quiet and mysterious girl Nikki meets in the mountainside city of Cloudcrest, during her first trip to Cloud. Yexiao is a girl who appreciates the simple things of life, like chicks, flowers and her cat, Mimi.

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• Berserk Button: Yexiao knows she's a snack. Don't point it out ''once again''.
• Bizarre Taste in Food: One of her reflections states that Yexiao and Nikki have the same tastes in food; she just pities that Nikki has low tolerance for spice.
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: Her cooking is (in)famous in Cloudcrest for being "strange noises and smells", besides her fondness of near-lethal amounts of capsaicin. Her interview in the official artbook even mentions a dish made solely of assorted rinds and skins.
• The Fog of Ages: Yexiao occasionally implies that the reason for her forgetfulness is that there is only so much she would be able to remember after millenia of travelling.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Mimi is a cat under Yexiao's current care who she is very attached to. It gets to the point of being mentioned immediately after a very dramatic scene in chapter 7.
• Living Memory: Yexiao is thought to be the memory of a legendary Cloud designer who lived in the Cloud Empire several thousand years before the events of the game that escaped her mirror in the Ark.
• Mystical White Hair: Yexiao is a quiet and mysterious girl with short white hair who is somehow acquainted with several divine beings.
• Punny Name: As constantly pointed out in the story proper, "yexiao" is Chinese for "midnight snack"; to the point where her Moments handle in the Chinese language servers is "Yexiao doesn't eat yexiao". As such, the older members of the anglophone player base often refer to Yexiao as "snack-chan".
• Really 700 Years Old: For some unknown reason, Yexiao didn't age at all in millenia.
• Unaffected by Spice: Much to the chagrin of anyone unfortunate enough to be served dinner by her, Yexiao is very fond of spicy food.

Vermillion Snow

"Designing clothes you don't like, copying the classic colors to please others' eyes, what is the point of getting good grades this way?"

Chinese: 一衣紅雪 Yīyī hóngxuě
Japanese: 紅 Kurenai

A Cloud designer born in the Apple Federation, specialized in red and white clothing.

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• Do Not Call Me "Paul": She does not like others calling her by her birth name Reddish White apart from her parents. Chi Xiaoyu does it anyway, though.
• Meaningful Name: Her current name in Chinese means "clothes of red and snow white", matching her preferred color palette.
• Meaningful Rename: As mentioned above, she was born Reddish White; Snow had it changed because she found it too ordinary and old-fashioned, and to signal her intent of staying in Cloud.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the calm and responsible one of her duo with Xiaoyu; it's common to see Snow signing attendance sheets in her stead or reminding her of due assignments.
• Stripperiffic: Her default outfit consists of a really short long-sleeved crop top, short shorts with diamond-shaped cutouts and a pair of slightly asymmetrical thigh-high stockings. It suffices to say not much is left to imagination.

Chi Xiaoyu

"Jiang Xitong is an old bore. If the university didn’t require us to learn at the museum, I definitely wouldn’t be here."

Chinese: 池小魚 Chi xiaoyu
Japanese: シャオ Shao

One of the Three Great Designers of Cloud, representing modern Cloud fashion. Snow's roommate and best friend, Xiaoyu is a carefree student under the traditionalist Jiang Xitong.

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• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The chaotic side of her pair with Snow.

Jiang Xitong

"My aim is to preserve traditional beauty and allow everyone to experience the charm of ancient Cloud."

Chinese: 江西桐 Jiāng xītóng
Japanese: 桐江 Kirie

One of the Three Great Designers of Cloud, and Beixi's elder sister. Represents ancient Cloud fashion.

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• Aloof Big Sister: Xitong doesn't seem to approve her younger sister's decision to leave Cloud, nor her work as a reporter with Vivian.
• Appeal to Tradition: Xitong's approach to Cloud fashion and culture in general; for her, the only true way to make clothes or food is the way that has been done for the previous centuries.
• Berserk Button: Nikki showed up to one of Jiang Xitong's lectures wearing apparel designed by Qing Yumo and it greatly displeased Xitong.
  Jiang Xitong: We'll end the lecture. Can't believe boors would make it here... You can have this copy to read in your own time. And take this accessory, too. Since you're willing to learn, don't ever choose the wrong style again.

Mercury Group

Mercury

"It seems you don't know yet. No one has ever negotiated terms with me."

Chinese: 墨丘利 Mòqiūlì
Japanese: マーキュリー Mākyurī

The founder and president of the Mercury Financial Group, Mercury is the older half-brother of Pigeon queen Ophelia.

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• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mercury's criminal record so far includes at least two murders (his father and an unnamed business rival), terrorism, kidnapping and human experimenting (Nikki and Joy). And that's not even taking Lilith and Ophelia into account.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He didn't take his mother's abandonment and subsequent death lightly, to the point of killing his father and vowing to destroy the light elves for it; even after all he has done, Mercury still keeps her in high regard, being the only person he truly loves.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As mentioned above, his mother. He also seems somewhat fond of his younger sister Ophelia, saying he hopes she will be able to fight his influence one day.
• Fairytale Wedding Dress: Faithful for a Lifetime is a textbook example, designed in homage to the deceased lover of one of his subordinates.
• Pointy Ears: As Ophelia's half-brother, he has pointed ears due to being part human and part elf.
• Royal Bastard: He is the son of (then prince) August with a human woman named Laure, who was chased away from the kingdom with her child by August's loyalists as soon as he took over the throne.
• Right-Hand Cat: Despite his serious and distant demeanor, Mercury owns a black cat.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: As expected of a CEO with royal blood, especially in the reflection for Glittering Era.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Most people only know Mercury as the gorgeous and mysterious CEO of the Mercury Group, unaware of the filth lying under his and his company's actions.

Vulture

""

Chinese: 黑鷲 Hēi jiù
Japanese: 黒鷲 Kuro washi

Mercury's right-hand man.

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• Butt-Monkey: Despite his rather menacing introduction in chapter 3, most of his appearances in the story - especially Moments posts - has him being made fun of, usually because of his hairstyle.
• Curly Hair Is Ugly: Vulture's curly locks are more than half the reason for his in-universe butt monkey status, especially on Moments.
• The Dragon: Vulture is usually the one doing Mercury's dirty work for him, when he's not running papers as a regular salaryman.

Pigeon Kingdom

Ophelia

"Protecting the Origin Crystal is the duty of every elven ruler."

Chinese: 奧菲莉亞 Àofēilìyà

The elven queen of the Pigeon Kingdom, Ophelia is king August's only (legitimate) child and Mercury's younger sister.

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• Gold and White Are Divine: Ophelia is a light elf, which is the elven species said to be "the closest to god"; appropriately, her color palette is mostly white and gold.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She is pure and kind as they come; she's also blonde, obviously.
• The High Queen: Gorgeously graceful, divinely elegant and overall queenly, Ophelia certainly qualifies.
• Pointy Ears: As an elf, she has elf's ears.
• Puppet Queen: She rules Pigeon Kingdom under Mercury's influence.

Modric

"The life of an artist belongs to the night."

Chinese: 莫笛 Mòdí

The head musician of the Pigeon royal court, Ophelia's personal music teacher and one of her best friends. Rumour has it that he was personally taught by Leonid.

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• Laser-Guided Amnesia: A power given to him - or rather, his music - by Leonid; Modric can erase whatever memory from a willing person's mind. He uses it first on his mother, in order to help her get over his father's death, then in several people, including Joy by the end of chapter 9.
• The Night Owl: According to Modric himself. He says that, as an artist, his life belongs to the night.
• Not a Morning Person: Which logically leads to Modric having trouble staying up early.

  Momo: Are you that tired?

  Modric: I woke up at 10AM in order to attend this funeral. Of course I’m tired.

  Momo: 10AM… Does that even count as early?

Ruin Island

Glow

"Hello humanity, I am Glow."

Ruin Island's ruling AI. Glow is responsible for every research project run in the Ruins, occasionally scouting for, evaluating and accepting scientist candidates. Like Nikki, she traveled through hundreds of timelines in failed attempts to save Miraland from destruction.

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• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Glow has a general tendency to manipulate people around her for her own ends. In chapter 11 of volume 2, we find that her current (202nd) plan to save Miraland from destruction includes locking everyone in a virtual world under her rule.
• The Computer Is Your Friend: Her endless attempts and failures to follow her original directive - to save Miraland from destruction via the Ocean of Memories - led Glow to the conclusion that the best way of saving humanity was to lock everyone inside a virtual world where no one is allowed to feel strong emotions nor create anything, under the logic that emotion caused the destructive tides.
• Benevolent A.I.: Glow gives up on her plan after Nikki convinces her of its flaw - that human beings would rather be extinct than have their creativity and emotions restrained - and promises to help Nikki in her own journey to save Miraland.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Her first text appearance in the story is in Into the Ruins, Caprico's reflection all the way back in chapter 5. Her actual sprite, however, is only revealed during the third anniversary event, currently translated as Starburst Above Ruin.
• Femme Fatale: Despite her objectives being good, Glow's favourite means of getting closer to them is using her current look of choice to seduce people into doing her bidding, which might or might not end in death - their own or someone else's.
• Foil: To Nikki. Both were tasked with saving Miraland's civilization only to end as the last women standing in every timeline for different reasons. However, while Nikki kept her original hopeful approach to the world around her, Glow grew distrustful of humanity's sense of self-preservation.
• Hologram Projection Imperfection: Her usually lifelike hologram glitches out when under emotional turmoil, like during Hestia's first departure from Ruin.
• Hot Witch: Her lifetime suit Law of the Star Vault, which she wears on occasion, is a long and very tight-fitting dress with an obvious witch theme complete with a pointy hat, a floating grimoire and pentagram-shaped pendants hanging on the skirt.
• I Did What I Had to Do: In the memories of her aforementioned lifetime suit, Glow expresses regret for the untimely death of (another) scientist who got involved in her plans, but justifies it as a necessary sacrifice for her plan to save humanity.
• Master Computer: She rules over Ruin Island digital systems and the government itself.
• Morality Chip: Ruin's past council of rulers tried to restrain Glow's manipulative tendencies - which by then had ended with the deaths of the two scientists directly involved with her rise to power - by writing a moral code into her urban management program.
• Projected Woman: Whenever possible, Glow tends to appear to people as the hologram of a young white-haired woman.
• Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: Glow has a variation with a bob cut and straight bangs in the front half of her hair and very long locks parted in half trailing down her back, resulting in a haircut known in the community as "jellyfish cut".
• Smart House: Or rather, a smart city; Glow runs every system in the main Ruin island as part of the "Urban Personality" project.
• Tutu Fancy: Boundless Star, which Glow wears on her first appearance, is a black tutu covered with stars spiraling from its hem to her waist, as if she were a black hole in the core of a galaxy.

Hestia

"Thank you, Glow, but... I can't eat a hologram."

Chinese: 赫斯提亞 Hèsītíyà
Japanese: ヘスティア Hesutia

King Augustus' sister and predecessor as the ruler of the Pigeon Kingdom. Currently works as a researcher in Ruin Island.

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• Ambiguously Bi: While Hestia has a slightly flirty personality by default, her words become very obviously flowery when she talks to Glow.
  Hestia: [you're] My heart's desire, the beacon of truth, my Glow.
• Apocalypse Maiden: Her heterochromia was seen by the elves as a sign that Hestia would bring misfortune to anyone around her.
• Emperor Scientist: When Augustus was denied his inheritance due to having a baby with a human woman, the Pigeon nobility decided to crown Hestia in hopes to turn her into a puppet queen; her Past and Beyond dress is her coronation outfit.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Since the explosion that led to her century of imprisonment left Hestia with an impaired leg, she wears a cybernetic leg garter to aid with walking.
• The High Queen: What drove her to return to Pigeon to be crowned queen when her father died was the hope to be able to use the power to modernize the nation and improve the commoners's quality of life. Even as a "mere" researcher with no remaining interest in the royalty, Hestia's main objective is still making people's lives better through technology.
• Lonely Rich Kid: As a result of her heterochromia, Hestia was mostly ignored by the nobility, so most of her time in the palace was spent with books and machines rather than people.
• Never Accepted in Her Hometown: After Augustus usurped the throne with the nobles' sabotage, every book written by Hestia was banned and even mentions of her name were redacted from Pigeon records; on the other hand, people in the Apple Federation (then still a Pigeon colony) held - and still holds - Hestia in high regard as "the queen of change".
• Pointy Ears: Being related to Pigeon Kingdom's royal family, she evidently has elfish ears.
• Rebellious Princess: Hestia fled the kingdom during her 100th birthday in order to become a researcher in Ruin Island and flee the hedonism and gossip that surrounded the royal family.
• Science Is Wrong: Pigeon elven nobility saw science and technology - which Hestia grew very fond of during her early life - as blasphemous, so when she returned from her 21 years exile in Ruin Island to take her brother's place as the regent, they took the first chance they had to drag her off the throne and into a prison when one of her devices mysteriously exploded during its debut ceremony.
• We Are Not Going Through That Again: Mercury's first option for the throne after murdering his father was reinstate Hestia as the queen; she, however, was through with the nobility and elected to leave Pigeon to return to Ruin while leaving the lead of the apparent revolution in her nephew's hands.

Ocean of Memories

Aphrodia

"What is it? If you want ice cream, it's the third shop down that way..."

Chinese: 愛芙狄雅 Àifúdíyǎ
Japanese: アフィディア Afidia

Aphrodia is the deity of love, born from the Ocean of Memories. She occasionally appears in Miraland searching for love stories to watch over.

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• Beautiful Singing Voice: According to Reedpipe Song, Aphrodia has a gorgeous voice while singing. However, it is also severely out of rhythm, so she was only allowed by the bar owner to sing three songs every night - it was for how long people would stay too bewitched by her beauty to care.
• Big Eater: One of her first appearances during the Wintermount Wedding Day event (and the game itself) has Aphrodia trying to swallow a whole scoop of an 8-scoop ice cream cone, which she tries to finish whole as soon as she notices Nikki and Momo's presences. After a short dialogue, Aphrodia leaves the scene by stating she must leave because "it's time for grilled squid".
  • Her main reason to come back to Zither River in the last chapter of Reedpipe Song is having Cloudian snacks.
• The Chanteuse: Reedpipe Song talks about Aphrodia's time as a charming singer specialized in folkloric love songs in a Cloudian bar. Fittingly, the suit the story is about is a black cheongsam complete with gloves, red bottoms and a spring-mounted stage microphone.
• Delighting in Riddles: One of Aphrodia's favourite pasttimes is giving people riddles to solve, be it a random couple passing by or a fashion event full of professionals.
• Gold and White Are Divine: Aphrodia's goddess outfit is a white recolour of her black "civilian" dress, keeping the gold accessories and changing her sunglasses for feather hairclips.
• Love Goddess: She surfaces from time to time to wander around Miraland, taking pleasure on watching love stories unfold.
• Meaningful Name: Besides the obvious reference to Aphrodite, her Chinese name begins with the character for "love".
• Morphic Resonance: While Aphrodia is a fully capable shapeshifter, she is also often much too lazy to change her face, which usually leads people to ask if she is her previous shape's descendant.

Dodora

"The first day you guys came to Cicia, I felt a familiar power that wanders between you two."

Chinese: 朶朶甜 Duǒduǒtián

One of the five envoys of the Deity of Styling, representing the sweet attribute. An idol formerly under Mercury Era (the entertainment branch of the Mercury Group) and runner-up for Ninir's throne during Lilith's reelection campaign.

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• Friendly Rivalry: With Dorothy, another idol from her time in Mercury Era and their current star.
• Girly Bruiser: Dodora was fired from Mercury Era for punching a fan who was harassing Dorothy during their training days and refusing to apologize publicly.
• Refusal of the Call: Attempted. When approached by Nikki after the Cician Idol tournament, Dodora was quick to state that she didn't want to follow and protect the deity of styling as she is supposed to, instead wanting to make a life for herself; Nikki then clarifies that she is just looking for information about said deity.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Dodora was more than willing to sacrifice her career for a friend, even if they became rivals afterwards.
• Theme Naming: As with the other envoys, her Chinese name has one of the characters of the attribute she represents^note 甜 is present in 甜美, which is the Chinese name for the "sweet" attribute.

Yisu

One of the five envoys of the Deity of Styling, representing the cool attribute. Also the legendary Hawk Hunter.

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• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Lost her memories of being an envoy after an encounter with the cursed Black Sand.

Wenrendian

Chinese: 聞人典 Wénréndiǎn

One of the five envoys of the Deity of Styling, representing the elegant attribute.

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• Older Than They Look: Has been alive for centuries
• Theme Naming: As with the other envoys, his Chinese name has one of the characters of the attribute he represents^note 典 is present in 典雅, which is the Chinese name for the "elegant" attribute.

Aloysius

One of the five enoys of the Deity of Styling, representing the fresh attribute.

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The Abyss

The Goddess of Desire

"If you just give your soul completely over to me, then you can have the love of the entire world, eternal unchanging love."

Or Desire for short. She is a deity born from people's selfish wishes in the Abyss beneath the Ocean of Memories.

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• Disc-One Final Boss: Nikki's battle against her closes the first volume of the main story.
• Embodiment of Vice: Desire is a goddess made out of people's darkest desires.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Goddess of Desire is completely absent from the main stages until the epilogue of volume 1, which was brought by the Dawn Duel event; however, she is the reason behind Nightbane's actions and her symbolism (falling red petals) is used as early as chapter 4.
• Hot God: Desire might be evil, but she is a god all the same. She is also a very shapely, seductive woman in a white form-fitting strapless dress.
• Light Is Not Good: Dresses in white and wishes to turn Miraland into a hellish carnival.
• Pimped-Out Cape: Her cloak is white with embroidered details all over it.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Desire's eyes are blood-red.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: Helps with the wings. Interestingly, since her cloak is translucent, her back remains exposed even while covered.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Her gloves and shoes are decorated with small bones.
• Winged Humanoid: Desire sports a pair of demonic wings built as an armature of sculpted bones.

Nightbane

Please allow my humble self to take your hand and lead you step by step into this strange and magical mirror realm.

Chinese: 夜骸 Yèhái
Japanese: ムクロ Mukuro

A demon servant raised by the Goddess of Desire. The fire Ashley set on the Starheaven Swan attracted him into offering her a deal, trading her soul and sense of fulfillment for supernatural beauty and irresistible charm. Nightbane has been acting as a personal servant under Lilith ever since until his disappearance after the events of Dawn Duel.

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• Chessmaster Sidekick: The second half of the first volume is nearly completely part of Nightbane's plan to summon the Goddess of Desire to Miraland; a process that requires "a lost soul", "the words of the wise" and "unlimited power" (respectively Lilith, Leonid's manuscripts and the Origin Crystal).
• Deal with the Devil: Nightbane is the devil that gave Ashley supernatural beauty and charm, in exchange for her soul, sense of fulfillment and life expectancy.
• The Jeeves: Lilith's personal (demonic) butler.
• Meaningful Name: His Chinese name means "night skeleton"; according to Desire's A Gloomy Start, Nightbane was nothing but a shambling pile of bones when they first met.
• Winged Humanoid: Black bony bat wings, as expected of a demon.