Phantom Thieves
"I get it now... We're doin' this to make sure people don't gotta go through the same crap we did. It doesn't matter if they think we're just or not. We gotta do what we believe in!"
- --Ryuji Sakamoto, alleged Phantom Thief
The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, or The Phantoms as they call themselves, are a group of Persona Users responsible for the 'change of heart' phenomena that have been the talk of Japanese media as of late. Considered picaresque heroes by their fans and the worst kinds of criminals by their detractors, little is actually known about this anonymous group by the public. There is no material proof that they even exist.
Among the Persona Users of Japan, they are no less polarizing due to their primary targets being prominent figures in the community rather than more overtly supernatural disasters and monsters.
What is certain is that they are growing in influence every day if the polls on the Phantom Aficionado Website and their ubiquitous media presence are any indication. But is that really such a good thing?
History and Formation
The Phantom Thieves of Hearts were formed in response to the injustices at Shujin Academy by three fledgling Persona Users: Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ann Takamaki. Joined by 'definitely not a cat' Morgana, they banded together to change the heart of Shujin Academy's now ex-volleyball coach, Suguru Kamoshida.
That might have been the end of it if the four of them hadn't decided in the aftermath that they wanted to keep using their powers to field the injustices of the world and change the hearts of those adults who harm others for their own benefit. They decided on a group name and rules for their own conduct, and now carry out their justice as The Phantoms.
To that end, the four have continued to grow in media presence due to the public being unable to get enough of their mysterious exploits. The appearance of a calling card is always followed by a change of heart within their target.
That social media presence has likewise been aided by their classmate, Yuuki Mishima. He has been instrumental in their efforts by creating and moderating the Phantom Aficionado Website, or Phan-Site for short, through which supporters can put in requests for a change of heart for those who have wronged them. However, since Mishima is not himself a Phantom Thief and the Phantom Thieves don't post on the Phan-Site, only review it for information, it is technically not affiliated with them. It is quite literally a fan site.
Culture and Organization
The Phantoms are a group of teenagers who are fully figuring it out as they go. 'Fake it until you make it' is the strong vibe within them, including for their mentor, Morgana, who can only provide them with so much information on how the Metaverse works before running into a stumbling block of his own memory.
There is a strong distrust of adults and authority figures among them due to how they were each failed by society, and the impetus of finding corrupt adult authority figures in order to take action against them before they can cause more harm to others is strong. That is not to say they won't target teenage bullies and other individuals causing harm to others. Distorted desires are not exclusive to adults, after all.
The Phantoms choose their targets only by unanimous consent among them. Even one vote of 'no' means a decision not to attempt a change of heart to a target, and a vote of 'I don't know/I'm not sure' means they need to do more research on a would-be target. However, this is rarely a problem among them, as the presence of a target in Mementos or a Palace is strong corroboration to Phan-Site requests.
Hardly the image of elegant phantom thieves to a man, verbal blunders are quite common, including mistakes that bring them one step away from the public finding out who they all are. However, there is strong solidarity amongst the united victims to always come to each other's aid when they're truly in trouble.
Besides changing hearts, The Phantoms have made it a goal to explore Mementos in order to try and rediscover Morgana's lost memories as part of the arrangement they've made with him.
Major Figures of the Phantom Thieves
- Joker - The leader of the Phantom Thieves. Unaffiliated with the Joker Killer. Dark and quiet, at least until ~ * IT'S SHOWTIME!! * ~. Emotionally intelligent, but doesn't always share his keen observations. Believes what The Phantoms do is justice and societal reform. The secret identity of Ren Amamiya.
- Mona - The advisor of the Phantom Thieves. Cocky and proud. Teaching the others how to be phantom thieves. Has amnesia but is knowledgeable about the supernatural... he thinks. A talking cat, but insists he's human; gets mad if you call him a cat. Can transform into a bus. The codename of Morgana.
- Skull - The second mate of the Phantom Thieves. Brash and foul-mouthed; lacking in smarts and discretion but overflowing with guts. Sometimes a horndog. Pushes the group forward in terms of finding new targets and thinking about how to spread the group's infamy. The secret identity of Ryuji Sakamoto.
- Panther - The heart of the Phantom Thieves. Cheerful and often oblivious, but has strong insight when she pays attention. Sexy without trying. Wants to inspire and give courage to the downtrodden. Believes there are fates worse than death; will give you one if crossed. The secret identity of Ann Takamaki.
- Fox - The aesthete of the Phantom Thieves. Responsible for designing the logo they currently use. Primary interest in the Metaverse is to expand his horizons and find new inspiration for his art. A mono-focused extremist; in other words, a weirdo among weirdos. The secret identity of Yusuke Kitagawa.
OOC Notes and Integration
- Because of the personal nature of The Phantoms as a group, OCs and other FCs cannot app directly into it. We encourage setting up your own group or else talking with the players of the Phantoms to do a story arc to integrate your character with them.
- The details of the changes of heart are fully known only to players in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts at game start. How it's pulled off mystifies even other veteran Persona Users.
- The Phantoms mostly know how the travel function of Mementos works at the start of the game from their explorations. This was through a lot of trial and error, including an incident where Morgana emerged from Port Island Station to ram into the gates of Tartarus at full speed. SEES is still wondering what that sound was.
- To reiterate, the Phan-Site is not run by the Phantoms, merely influenced by them through a relationship with Yuuki Mishima who wink wink nudge nudge definitely doesn't know who any of them are. Since they do not post there in any official capacity, PCs can't track them down through it.
- The public fully does not know any of the Phantom Thieves' codenames at the start of the game. It is thus impossible to speculate that the Joker Rumor has any connection to them, for now. That doesn't mean The Phantoms aren't frowning at it.