OOC: Character and World Information (XIII-2)

[thestormishere]

For those who haven't played the game that Lightning and her friends are from, here's a quick run-down of the world of FFXIII and some terms you may see. If you want to play the game and know nothing, be warned this does include spoilers for the first few hours or so of the story.

There are two lands in Final Fantasy XIII: Cocoon and Gran Pulse. Cocoon is a continent in the shape of a Dyson's shell, floating above the planet of Gran Pulse. If any of the tens of millions of people who live in Cocoon were to look up into the night sky, they would see not stars, but the lights of the cities situated on the other side of the sphere. Try not to think of the mechanics of this too hard.

And this is where it gets a bit confusing- however, all that really matters is this: the citizens of Cocoon hate and fear anything from Pulse. Life in Cocoon is defined by the presence of fal'Cie (generally called Sanctum fal'Cie), who are magical/mechanical/crystal-based beings that literally run the place. However, there are also fal'Cie from Pulse, and somewhere around 600 years before the start of FFXIII's story, there was a war in which Pulsian forces attacked Cocoon and did quite a bit of damage to the outer shell. The fear and paranoia that resulted from this is the main cause of a government undertaking called the Purge at the beginning of the game- when a Pulse fal'Cie was found outside a Cocoon city, everyone nearby is rounded up and slated for "relocation" to Gran Pulse below.

Of course, things do not go as planned, and Lightning and several others are made into l'Cie by the aforementioned Pulse fal'Cie. Essentially coerced slaves of the fal'Cie, l'Cie are given enhanced physical abilities and the use of magic to help them complete a Focus... even if they don't understand it. Those who succeed in finishing their Focus are turned into a crystal statue; those who fail end up as mindless monsters called Cie'th.

Lightning is from Cocoon, but she and the other main characters in FFXIII were Pulse l'Cie because they were Branded by a Pulse fal'Cie, and therefore considered enemies of Cocoon in general. Most of the plot has to do with them dealing with this fact (AKA running from the government), how it tore their lives apart, and what they should do about it all.

As of XIII-2, naturally, things have changed. [[At the end of FFXIII, Cocoon begins to fall because of the Pulse l'Cie's actions. However, Fang and Vanille use their power to transform into Ragnarok to save it, creating a crystal pillar around them to hold it up above Gran Pulse below. The other l'Cie are crystallized as well, but then somehow come out of it. Everyone is reunited, including Lightning and Serah.

... And then abruptly, Lightning isn't there any more. Serah is the only one who remembers her sister surviving Cocoon's fall; everyone else either believes she died or sacrificed herself in the same way as Fang and Vanille. In truth, she'd been sent to Valhalla, the world at the end of time. Chaos from Valhalla has infected the timeline, causing Paradoxes that threaten its stability. Lightning can see everything from Valhalla, and upon meeting Noel, the last survivor of humanity who ended up there as well, sends him back to meet Serah and then find their way back to Valhalla.

Meanwhile, she attempts to keep Caius from destroying everything, waiting for Serah and Noel to arrive and help her solve the paradoxes once and for all. /plot of XIII-2]]

SUDDEN DISCLAIMER: Something like this should go without saying, but regardless... note that it is extremely rude to take something another has written and adapt it to your own uses. That goes for everything in this post as well as everything written on and by this account. Do not steal my writing. Thank you.

Lightning's physical description
Lightning is 5'7" with blue/green eyes and light pink hair. Because of her training and work as a soldier, her lean frame is very much the body of an athlete who works hard on keeping herself in shape. She never slouches, apparently preferring to carry herself with purpose. However, despite this and her serious nature in general, in many ways her overall look could be considered unusual for someone who was once so dedicated to being a soldier. Her slightly-wavy hair is kept long, layered into her face and on the sides, and is generally swept over her left shoulder. She also seems to be not entirely above vanity and symbolism, since she also has a navel piercing and is known to wear a pretty necklace. In addition... she always fights in a miniskirt (...or less).

Personality
(Note that this section does contain background and some storyline spoilers.)
When Lightning's story began, she was for the most part withdrawn, bitter, and distrustful of almost everyone she came in contact with. She was a woman who had lost sight of what was truly important to her, and although once it was taken from her she displayed a very powerful desire to get it back, she also had very little idea how to properly do so. Instead, she just charged forward, taking life as it threw things at her; aside from her sister, she cared little for what most of those around her did with themselves... as long as they didn't get in her way. One of the first things she did in the game, and what she continued doing for some time, was simply shrug off or even attempt to leave behind anyone who was being too slow or otherwise inconvenient in the pursuit of her goals. In addition, although she was clearly agitated towards the murder of innocent civilians during the Purge, in a way they were merely numbers to her, not quite as important as the loss of her sister. Needless to say, her view towards her civilization's way of life and government had turned very resentful immediately following Serah's transformation into a l'Cie.

Of course, this worsened when Serah was actually crystallized... when Lightning became convinced that her sister was gone, and that the only path left to her was one of revenge against the beings who had wronged her so gravely.

However, although Lightning may have tried her best to put up a tough façade, there was always that more fragile, insecure aspect to her as well - seen only briefly in flashbacks, and studiously hidden during the main storyline until moments of self-development. The truth is, Lightning's personality was in itself a construct created to protect herself and her sister after their parents' deaths, yet a good part of what makes her ultimately stronger is the change in outlook she undergoes over the first game's storyline- the release of that stiff front she'd built, the release of her grudges and anger and defensiveness, and truly becoming what she needed to be, rather than what she thought she needed to be.

Over time, the tenseness that constantly colored most of her early interactions with others began to fade. She started to see parts of herself and her troubles in her companions, and as they spent more time together, her view of the world and her purpose finally began to clarify. Her leadership switched from an aloof, overly forceful and blunt demeanor that the others really only followed reluctantly, to one that is more based on compassion and a solid foundation of better understanding their ultimate goals and duty. This becomes especially clear in the change in her behavior towards Hope, her apology towards Snow, and finally later when Fang's Eidolon attacks the group inside the Ark: rather than grow agitated like she might have earlier on, Lightning simply stood up for and calmly reached out to the rebellious woman, appealing that it was more beneficial to fight with them and towards their goal of freedom — for themselves and the citizens of Cocoon. By the end of the game, Lightning has accepted her responsibility in rescuing Cocoon's people from a dark fate no matter what it takes, to defy the purpose of their Focus and accomplish the impossible. Her hope that they would find a solution to their time quickly running out, find a way to save Cocoon, would see Serah again was entirely unbreakable.

Of course, she continues to change following the Pulse l'Cie's success in simultaneously saving and "destroying" Cocoon as it was under the Sanctum fal'Cie rule; although she can still be quite blunt and reticent at times, especially to those she doesn't know well or flat-out dislikes, Lightning's experiences following the fight of wills at the end of FFXIII have deeply affected her. She's experienced a brief flash of hope, a conundrum that still required solving... and then was whisked away from her moment of happiness by the repercussions of their altered fate, presented with an entirely new opportunity to carve out a purpose for herself and her new family.

As of XIII-2, she was and still is extremely passionate, although now overlaid by a quiet desperation; she is absolutely determined to fix what she believes is her responsibility in part to save: the future that is in immediate danger by the chaos held within Valhalla and Caius' plan to unleash it. Although made very powerful, she's also been extremely restricted - despite seeing the timeline, she can barely do anything herself because she also can't leave Valhalla's realm for very long at all. Her only capability is to attempt to guide those she once knew from the sidelines, unable to even directly speak to most of them. Of particular interest is, when she finally does appear to Serah and Noel, her refusal to answer Serah's wish to be together at the end of their journey with a solid answer, insisting instead on "one thing at a time." When she speaks to Serah indirectly, her words carry a strong note of sadness to them (...and perhaps even outright angst, given her surprise at finding out her old military buddies continue to honor her memory).

In any case, barring her ever-present, immense weakness for her little sister, and while she's no doubt grown more understanding, more willing to embrace calmness and patience, she can still be easy to irritate, and a bit prone to lashing out - both verbally and physically - if she's finally pushed that far. It takes a lot to change her opinion on something, and though that stubbornness in her has certainly mellowed, she can still be pretty intolerant of any conflicting views or actions. She is unerringly honest, isn't afraid to speak her mind, and has a sharp intuition for seeing more than what's on the surface and/or putting together what she already knows into a larger picture. She has every intention of using that aspect of herself and her talents to better the home she has developed a personal responsibility for, as well. She is a woman who doesn't take challenges idly.

... She's also developed a case of "speak elaborately because I know more than I should" syndrome. XIII-era Lightning would be unlikely to describe something as "a realm awash with sadness," yet with XIII-2 Lightning, this is not particularly unusual at all. Depending on her emotional state and topic of conversation, her wordiness may increase significantly. 8|

As for Luceti? During her nearly two years there, there's definitely no doubt her experiences affected her and will continue to color her thoughts and behavior. Most importantly is the fact that, whether she'd planned on it or not (spoiler warning: she hadn't), she actually managed to gain and maintain several close friendships she hadn't had before she got there. While initially determined to hold her distance until she could figure out a way back home, she still found herself developing her sense of 'family' apart from sharing blood relation, increasing her toleration for non-Serah-originating friendliness that the other l'Cie had started. Eventually, she opened up to the point of dating Zack Fair and, when Aerith Gainsborough went home, experienced the pain of losing her best friend. In addition, the sibling/guardian/partner-in-crime relationship she'd started with Hope Estheim back on Cocoon was allowed to grow as well; in-short, her people-skills are just sort of improved in general, and over time she's gotten better at communicating even with strangers without being constantly blunt and risking alienation in a small town setting.

But, there's certainly a touch of darker things in Luceti as well- namely that, regardless of any balancing her relationships with others bring to her, her guilt and fear of losing what she cares about lingers. Being a l'Cie and forced to accept that there was no way out of meeting the consequences of her time to complete her Focus running out was a heavy blow, and the fact that she very nearly lost her sanity while enduring a transformation into a Cie'th has left her mentally scarred even over a year and a half later. She's had to adapt to forced inaction or risk burning herself out, yet still Lightning as she is in Luceti is prone to a lot of frustration due to her helplessness and perceived lack of knowledge of what is going on (see also: meeting people from ~the future~ such as Noel, Hope, and even her own sister... but not being the person they expected at all). Her increased first-hand knowledge of XIII-2 should help, though of course, not entirely. The problem of wanting to return home versus finding some peace in this place will remain, even if she's likely to become more genuinely chill in general about it.

Powers and Skills (canonical)
Due to her time as a l'Cie, triumphing over one of the Goddess Etro's messenger Eidolons, and eventually being part of the miracle/catastrophe that was Etro saving the crystallized l'Cie from stasis, Lightning's spirit is particularly in-tune with the deity responsible for creating humanity and ruling over the connection between the seen and unseen realms. And, as a result of possessing Etro's specific blessing as her Champion, set to directly defend the sleeping deity, she is... absolutely ridiculous, overflowing with divine strength which enhances her already existing talents and experience to a crazy degree-

She is supernaturally strong and fast, and wields a large scope of magical abilities, ranging through everything from spells that allow her to attack with electricity and wind, enhance her own strength/protections, smack her enemies right in the face with various 'debuffing' ailments... to the capability of controlling gravity and inertia at will (her monster version's auto-ability of 'Immovable MAX' = good luck interrupting her attacks by knocking her down; in cutscenes she literally hangs in the air as she resists a blow) and summoning her gunblade from thin air. She also has command over any other being she defeats in Valhalla- including not just a veritable army of monsters and then her own 'Eidolon' summon, Odin, from her stint as a Pulse l'Cie, but at least two others as well: Bahamut and Shiva. Her actual manifestation of power is her Eidolith, a pink-colored crystal in the shape of a rose's open bloom; like most instances in the Final Fantasy series, this means her magic ultimately arises from a crystal-based source.

From a gameplay stand-point, her Paradigm roles and specific spells/abilities are as follows, mostly taken from the Requiem of the Goddess DLC. Asterisked abilities are specific to the monster-crystal version of her that can be added to Serah and Noel's party as a Commando. Not included: auto-abilities that involve other party members' roles (Blindside, etc.), and Gravity, although she is shown to possess it via cutscene/Live Trigger.

• Paladin (Commando): Ruin/Ruinga - blast of non-elemental magic; Blitz - wide-range physical attack; Legion of One - devastating, extended physical attack on one enemy (Feral Link ability); Launch - (auto) throws 'staggered' enemies into the air; Scourge/Smite - (auto) heavy damage to enemy about to recover from staggering; *Adrenaline - (auto) boosts strength and magic when at high health; *Armor Breaker/Mind Piercer - (auto) boosts strength or magic if enemy possesses a resistance to either.
  
• Mage (Ravager): Thunder/Thundara/Thundaga - blast of lightning-elemental magic, of varying strengths and range (magic damage).
  
• Shaman (Ravager): Galestrike/Windstorm/Bladestorm - wind-elemental attack with gunblade, in increasing strengths/range (physical damage).
  
• Knight (Sentinel): Immortality - near-immunity to damage and resistance to status ailments.
  
• Conjurer (Synergist): Aura - dispels existing buffs and casts Bravery, Faith, and Haste, increasing speed and strength both physically and magically; Mighty Guard - dispels existing buffs and casts Protect, Shell, Veil, and Vigilance, increasing resistance to both physical and magical damage, status ailments, and getting interrupted mid-attack.
  
• Sorceror (Saboteur): Chaos - Inflicts Debrave, Defaith, Deprotect, Deshell, Curse (anti-Vigilance), and Daze (target incapable of taking action).

Even without the crazy-ass magical abilities, however (and even with the half power cap of Luceti), she's still a force to be reckoned with. As athletic and acrobatic as she is, her fighting style often includes flips and somersaults both offensively and defensively. As a former soldier, she is a stellar swords- and marks-man, and her signature weapon, a 'gunblade,' which in Cocoon's military was only issued to the most skilled, reflects both of these. She's been shown, amongst other things, using a rocket launcher, operating complicated machinery, and utilizing a personal gravity-controlling device ('AMP'-based) with expertise. Before resigning and then being marked as a Pulse l'Cie, she was a sergeant in line for a promotion and set to be trained for commissioning; likely the only reason why she wasn't already in some sort of position of prestige was because of her devotion to her sister and unwillingness to compromise in it.

Because of all of this, and her extensive research in Luceti, and her glimpse of her world's entire timeline... it's kind of safe to say there's a reason why Noel asks her if she's the Goddess of War when they meet-- and why, despite probably having a pretty good idea of who she is, her fated rival Caius specifically addresses her in this manner as well. Regardless of her current power level, she repeatedly shows the ability to make important, split-second decisions to get herself and whoever she happens to be with out of danger. Or... if the situation calls for it, into danger, of course, in the pursuit of taking down whatever she's deemed worthy of her wrath.

Emotionally, Lightning's been through a lot, and yet despite that, despite being jerked away from what she truly wanted, she remains determined to complete her goal of protecting the sleeping Goddess and reality as it stands, from the man and the forces who would gladly destroy them for their own means. She's determined and willing to act on what she believes in, up to and beyond everything ever being violently undone. Breaking her will is basically impossible. Even when she does falter, it doesn't take long for her to pick herself back up.

Weaknesses:
Physically... it's hard to say Lightning even has any weaknesses, particularly after she's been upgraded by Etro's blessing. She's ever strong and fast, remains a jack of all trades, and has even mostly lost the problem she'd had as a l'Cie in being light enough to get thrown around. In the context of her fight against Caius, her major problem there is that she simply does not have the centuries of experience he does-- and still manages to hold her own in a variety of ways anyway, of course. From a purely canonical state, in weaponless, magicless combat she would likely be at a disadvantage, but her time in Luceti solved a lot of that. So, yes.

That said, Lightning's main weakness is definitely her emotion. Initially she is driven to protect the Goddess because she senses what would happen to reality if Etro were to fade away entirely, but at her heart Lightning still cares most for her sister and loved ones; eventually it is this - in Caius exploiting her shock at witnessing a glimpse of Serah's fate, the shadowy incarnation of Yeul that insists everything going awry is the result of Lightning's actions - that brings her down. Her self-sacrificial mindset is rather ridiculous, as is her belief that she has something to atone for. It's somewhat difficult for her to connect that people are concerned about her at times because she herself gives little regard for her wellbeing except as a means to bring happiness to others.

This is on top of her pre-existing attitude. She's gotten better, yes, both canonically and by quite a bit in Luceti, but in the end she's still just not all that socially skilled. Her rarely-seen sense of humor is roughly as dry as the Sahara and can seem out of place when she decides to reveal it. She's kind of really intimidating even when she's not trying to be.

There's also certain irony in that, despite having glimpsed the entire timeline, her prolonged foresight continues to suffer; her plans typically focus on rather short-termed goals and always have, lacking an answer to the "and then what?" that would appear obvious. Case in point: what did she think would happen when Serah was plenty old enough to take care of herself? What did she think would happen once she'd taken out her revenge on the Sanctum? What did she think would happen once Serah and Noel had made it to Valhalla to help her like she'd asked? While she often thinks she knows what she wants or what is needed, she tends to live life rather in the moment. Given her time displacement now though, perhaps that's kind of apt.

Finally, while sort of an odd example of a 'weakness,' strangely enough, she's lost the ability to heal with magic- presumably because all of her powers as Etro's Champion are specialized for only what she needs, and in fighting Caius by herself, she just... flat out doesn't need that any more. Gone as well are her Water, Blizzard, and Fire skills, though she's pretty unlikely to even miss them.

Comments

XIII only / pre-canon update powers

[thestormishere]

Long story short, Lightning is a total bad-ass. 8| As a l'Cie, she possesses strength, speed, and stamina far beyond that of average humans, enhancing the skills she had already honed before the onset of her 'curse.' Due to this, Lightning can jump extremely high with little effort, maneuver and attack much quicker than most enemies can even react, and weather blows and spells that would rapidly undo anything weaker. As athletic and acrobatic as she is, her fighting style often includes flips and somersaults both offensively and defensively, such as when she's knocked down or trying to get out of the way of impending attacks.

She is also shown, amongst other things, using a rocket launcher, operating complicated machinery, and utilizing a personal gravity-controlling device ('AMP'-based) with expert skill. It's worth noting that during gameplay she often outright defies gravity to deliver extended mid-air attacks too, but considering she's never really shown capable of hovering like that in other scenes, and no longer possesses her Gravcon after the first chapter or so, it's most likely an oddity of the battle system (as in, although she may be capable of 'Launching' enemies, staying up there while she attacks seems like it's probably not 'actually' happening).

Naturally, she is a stellar swords- and marks-man, and her signature weapon, a 'gunblade' which is only issued to the most skilled soldiers, reflects both of these. As a ranking soldier, she is well-learned in the ways of her home's military and security methods, and is a natural leader and planner; before she gave up her military status, she was a sergeant in line for a promotion and set to be trained for commissioning. As the story proceeds, she repeatedly shows the ability to make important, split-second decisions to get herself and her companions out of danger. Or... if the situation calls for it, into danger, as their quest to take down the Sanctum fal'Cie often calls for.

L'Cie are also granted the use of magic in order to facilitate completing their Focus, and in Lightning's case, this takes the form of numerous spells and elemental attacks. Naturally, her predominant element is the electricity-based 'Thunder' but she is also able to harness several others (Water, Fire, Blizzard, and Aero up through their -ra levels) in addition to a non-elemental attack spell called 'Ruin' which she uses alongside her physical attacks (particularly if the enemy in question is out of convenient range, or is known to cause poisoning or similar upon physical contact). The spells generally take the form of a long-range attack of a particular element, although she can also make elemental strikes with her weapons too- e.g., 'Sparkstrike.'

Although not her most prominent facet, alongside the 'Commando' side of her skills, which are mostly strategic, offensive, and physical, and 'Ravager' skills, which are offensive and magical, Lightning is also a 'Medic.' As the name implies, this allows her to heal herself and others, from both physical damage (Cure, Cura, and Raise) and status effects (Esuna) once she learns the appropriate skills through the 'Crystarium.' Yes, she's a sword-fighter and a mage and a healer, without even any sort of limit to how many times she can cast magic save for the need to very briefly pause and recharge. 8| Welcome to FFXIII-land.

By using her personal 'Eidolith' crystal, normally Lightning can also summon an Eidolon for short amounts of time: Odin, who is also of the Thunder element. The being has two forms: a giant, armored man who attacks alongside Lightning against her foe, and a semi-mechanical horse which she can then ride, dual-wielding the Eidolon's huge swords.

Notably late in the game, all the characters are given the ability to learn the other roles – Sentinel, Synergist, and Saboteur, in Lightning's case – but they generally take a long time to get them anywhere near the strength of the roles the character started with. Regardless, her Synergist and Sentinel abilities are:

• Physical- and magical-enhancing Bravery and Faith spells - increase the base strength of attacks, but no notable effect on speed.
  
• Defensive Protect and Shell spells - take the form of a semi-invisible barrier that partially block others' attacks.
  
• Elemental-strengthening En- spells - adds Thunder, Water, Fire, or Ice aspects to weapons and their effects to one's attacks.
  
• Speed-increasing Haste spells - makes target quicker, shortens recovery time between ability to attack (actually not all that useful except for canonmates or people with a magic system that requires "charging").
  
• Awareness-enhancing Vigilance spells - increases target's chance of interrupting an opponent mid-attack, reduces chance of getting interrupted in turn. Magically-induced zen.
  
• Sentinel abilities to defend herself and allies - focusing primarily on drawing opponents' attacks to herself and then avoiding them; rather than ever learning Steelguard and related abilities, she uses Elude instead, and employs a high rate of counter-attacking. When injured, her resistance to attacks increases.

Meanwhile, due to a death penalty obtained March 2011, Lightning once lacked the instinctive knowledge of how to do magic that l'Cie inherently have- instead of simply being able to point her hand and make things catch on fire, she had to practice more concentration for it now. As a tangential side effect, while she should have been at her max for learned abilities and technically should have possessed Saboteur spells as well, on top of this and the complications of trying to explain how things like Imperil and Deprotect would work in a non-RPG setting, she never got around to demonstrating them.