I look at my baby FFX verse. I look at the reply @calmsought gave me.
Anyway, I have more ideas for FFX!Lightning.
Claire and Serah grew up in Luca after being orphaned at a young age. Although the port doesn’t have a dedicated temple, much of the people who assisted the girls during this time ( at least until Claire was old enough ) were Yevonites, which helped instil a firm belief in the religion by Serah. I don’t think Claire ever held a particular hatred or distrust for the church, she just... didn’t see the point in praying for a god who seemed to imply the reason their parents died was because they were not ‘pure’ enough, and quickly noticed the dichotomy between acceptable machina and unacceptable machina.
Claire joined the Crusaders as soon as they would take her, mostly working odd jobs around the city. Much like the Guardian Corps, this gave her the ability to provide for her and her sister at the cost of limited time. In this period, Serah met Snow - an up-and-coming Blizball star for the Luca Goers - and began to seriously think about becoming a summoner in order to protect the people of Spira.
I feel like somewhere in this period Claire also changed her name to Lightning. It most likely started as a codename she adopted and became reinforced during her pilgrimage, especially after journeying through the Thunder Plains.
Upon getting wind of her sister’s plan, Lightning came home and the two got into a massive argument. Serah would not budge on her plans, Lightning didn’t want her to achieve said plans, but she also knew Serah would go on without her given that Snow had committed to the plan of dropping the Goers to become a guardian and she was convinced he’d be fucking useless. She agreed to become a guardian only to convince her sister what a reckless and stupid plan it was.
Cue their pilgrimage. I haven’t thought too heavily about the other FFXIII cast as guardians but... hey, if it works? Maybe Sazh lost his son and that’s what made him become a guardian, maybe Fang/Vanille were another prototype dream before Tidus, WHO KNOWS. Whether it’s the whole gang or only part, they do their pilgrimage and get to Zanarkand.
Serah ends up choosing Snow to be her Final Aeon due to the love they held for each other ( I love the idea he promised he’d marry her after she got her Final Aeon and... well ) and the knowledge Lightning would completely reject Yunalesca’s truth were she to propose it to her. This means all Lightning really knew is that Serah and Snow went in together to get her Final Aeon and Serah comes out distressed and alone. I don’t really know if my personal ship for Snow/Light applies in this verse, but it can go one of two ways. Either it’s the man she secretly loves dying for her sister OR the man she finally accepted as worthy enough for her sister dies for her in what she feels is a senseless way ( especially if Sin comes back ). It doesn’t really matter when thinking in broad strokes. Anyway, she nearly goes postal on Yunalesca herself, only to be calmed by Serah who basically says Snow’s sacrifice is for nothing if they die.
This ends up being for naught when, upon trying to find Sin, Serah is fatally struck down. I’d like to say it’s one of those tragic accidents where no one really blames Lightning for being unable to do anything ; it’s the fragility of humanity itself, not the power of the guardian or their summoner. Serah passes away in Light’s arms, firmly instilling the senselessness of the pilgrimage in Lightning. Sin continues on.
Lightning then returns to Luca where she is constantly propositioned by wannabe summoners looking for an experienced guardian and consistently rejected.
I think the only reason she joins Yuna’s party is because Auron specially met her in Luca, as someone in a near similar circumstance, and they vowed to work through Tidus/Yuna to undo the cycle. This is why Lightning says nothing about what the Final Aeon entails, despite knowing one of the guardians would have to die, and why she wouldn’t interject during their offerings in Zanarkand. She waits with Auron for the confrontation with Yunalesca. I don’t know (?) if she would know he was unsent, but I don’t think it matters to her.
I also have two ideas surrounding Snow’s fayth. One: Light buries it somewhere in Zanarkand and gives up the location to Yuna after they defeat Yunalesca. Though he is no Final Aeon, it ensures his loss was for nothing and he can be of some use helping Yuna fight Sin. Two: She’s had it on her person the whole time and basically does the same thing in Zanarkand minus leading them to the fayth. If baby Seymour can carry his mother around as Anima, she can do the same.
The setting is just a generic fantasy setting; that way the characters can fit into anywhere more fleshed out or lore-heavy without any clashing interests and such. Again, the information is sparse so the characters can blend in better with their surroundings and meld into fantasy-oriented threads better.
Lenore: A witch with a very specific, very rare type of magic that deals with light and reflections. It’s rumored her magic can afflict the soul itself, but so far there’s no proof and supposedly no basis for such rumors. However, that has not stopped most folk from taking these rumors to heart. She lives a rather reclusive life, keeping to herself out in the wilds. When she visits towns or cities she does so in secret. Her appearance, much to her vexation, is one that’s incredibly recognizable due to heavy scarring and the strange opalescence her red hair has even on the cloudy days and dark nights. Because of this she tends to wear a heavy traveler’s coat with a large hood pulled over her head while out and about. Perhaps there is some credibility to the hearsay surrounding her strange persona, for her presence seems to summon up disturbances wherever souls (either living or dead) may be found...
Micah: A knight in training, previously a sailor and (sometimes still) a rogue guide of sorts. Previously part of a rather strict and conservative holy coven in a grand citadel, he was exiled after he protected and housed a Creature of the Beyond and his sexuality was found out. He traveled on his own to an entirely new place to start over. He aims to become a summonable knight: in other words, a champion that anyone with access to means of magic or summons can call upon for help... even if he doesn’t particularly feel called to that position, it’s better than being a shameless thief or a rogue that fights for table scraps. The problem is, his abilities when it comes to magic are formidable but entirely unpredictable. It’s as if his magic-- a thing of dark mass, static, electromagnetism, and the sense of void -- is using him instead of the other way ‘round. It’s questionable on if his abilities are magic at all, or something darker. Currently out completing two years’ worth of questing with nothing but his own resources and skills to prove he’s even worth being a summonable champion. Some strange changes have been occurring in him that he’s using to the best of his ability… but it’s difficult, to say in the least.
Candle: A Creature of the Beyond– strange, insectoid/humanoid individuals whose origins are unknown. They are considered unclean, unholy, bad omens that bring nothing but death and misfortune. If one appears in your life, then you might as well be considered a dead man walking. She sticks beside Micah during his travels, acting both as a little sister and as a mage that aids him in his journey. Her type of magic (if it can be called that) is odd indeed. She’s not all she seems, and she doesn’t try too hard to keep it a secret… people have a strange habit of assuming she’s nothing more than a poor soul with a curse placed upon her when that’s the farthest thing from the truth.
Aoki: Born into a village of humans that were petrified of anything not of their own kind, so far he’s led a rather unfortunate life. Once he was discovered to be what the humans claimed was a halfling, he and his older brother were turned over to a cleric that claimed they could make him human. All that came from that was misery; a misery he eventually broke free from by force. He tries his best to appear human, as he’s paranoid of what may happen if his status as an unknown monster were to be found out again. If asked about his capabilities, he’ll simply reply that he was cursed at a young age and not elaborate any further. He’s part of Zippermouth’s band of the ostracized and taboo, often working as one of her few trusted mercenaries or a journeyman, though he takes plenty of self-employed jobs as well in order to keep on the move.
Yamai: Aoki’s older brother, the one who didn’t make it out alive... but did make it out dead, and then undead. He’s alive (and formerly died) because of a botched necromancy. He is now considered a necromancer of sorts himself; ironic, really. Though he tends to stay away from that side of himself as much as he can. He works incredibly dangerous jobs that his state between living and dead lend itself well to; i.e., an informant capable of gleaning information from well beyond the grave. He’s loosely partnered with Zippermouth on a needs-be, quid-pro-quo basis.
Zippermouth: A self-proclaimed ex-goddess. She hasn’t had the desire to be conventional divinity for several millennia, and she has no desire to start any time soon. The cult that once followed her has long disbanded. She now surrounds herself with those who aren’t afraid to call her their equal, even if at the end of the day she’s the one who runs the group. Head of an underground of sorts referred to as Deadman’s Dogma, she takes in the exiled, the ostracized, the underdog, and the criminal alike. Some say she has a hand in multiple black markets. She says that’s none of your business unless you want it to be your business until the day you die.
Ru: A chimera of unknown origin. His natural form is that of a giant, winged deer with a wolf’s snout and teeth, the claws of a great cat, the tail of a dragon, and far more pairs of horns than any one stag should have. He can take on the form of a large black cat, a black stag, or a giant black hawk. He also has a humanoid form. He’s rather solitary, though it’s rumored that he exists to bring company for the loneliest souls in the world… at a certain price, of course.
Sleepwalker: The fragment of a moon star that was given more conscious life the moment it passed through the atmosphere. He has adopted the look and mannerisms of a common wood nymph. He has a dual-nature: the seen side of the moon, and the dark side of the moon. Some venture to him to gather good dreams that he bottles up and sends home with them. Little do they know just what they are exchanging for that: threads and fragments of their own waking mind.
Gabe: A humanoid chimera that seems to have gained life as civilization has become more polished and extensive. He’s a psion of sorts, forming bonds with unseen spirits and forces that have only recently come into existence. It’s rumored there’s a legion of different things living within his body, that he’s host to something ungodly and never seen in the world before. If you asked him, he’d just shrug and tell you that he’s got no damn clue what’s going on with him, either.
Annabel: A human with budding magical abilities. Her magic seems rather mundane and inconsequential to most. She’s not exactly happy with it herself. But there’s something quite sinister brewing with her– literally and figuratively. The more she practices, the more she discovers that there’s a missing part in her that just might be the key to why her magic powers are so vague and indefinite. Something about her seems very strange… carnivorous, maybe even cannibalistic. She’s somewhat estranged from her sister Lenore, though they keep in touch through letters and spells.
Khan: An undead with a penchant for eating anyone that crosses the wrong path into his territory. He’s often referred to as a bloodhound: he can find you anyone and anything for the right price. Technically he’s supposed to be a mage’s familiar, but no mage, wizard, witch, or knight has ever been able to tame him.
Xenon: A wraith that was once a Creature of the Beyond– and maybe still is. He’s a trickster and a swindler who’s just as likely to rob you blind and feed you full of lies as he is to tell you what streets to avoid while traveling by night and where to find hidden marketplaces that have exactly what you’re looking for.
Discard: A phantom that guides lost travelers every so often that stalks about haunted areas. She’s a maker of artifacts and masks that have special properties only she is capable of producing. Her shop travels about on its own. All you have to do is ring the bell by the service counter and she’ll appear, even if she seems to be nowhere in sight.
Jezel: Unknown. The mother of all Creatures of the Beyond. Don’t talk about her. Don’t think about her. That’s how she finds you more easily.
group homes were better than juvie. and wasn’t THAT a low bar. dick grayson lost his parents, lost his home, lost his LIFE all with the simple snapping of a cord and now he’s grounded to what the news affectionately calls “america’s asshole”. gotham isn’t bright. it doesn’t have people that want to help, or care, or do anything other than hurt one another. dick swears he’ll never be like them. and for a month that lasts.
at first it’s simple stuff from bigger organizations. big chain stores and corporations that won’t miss anything while its gone. bread, cheese, stuff he can swipe and get away with. but other kids in his group home are hungry too, and he starts to get attention. he’s good. TOO good. he’s the son of acrobats, he can make the jumps no one else can and he’s got enough street smarts to keep him out of anything overly dicey.
one night he goes for something bigger. something he can sell and maybe pawn for some extra cash to last them AT LEAST a months worth of groceries. but when his feet land on the roof that night, he’s not alone. sure, he’s heard of catwoman. but he never thought nobody grayson would ever come face to face. at first selina is hesitant. dick’s YOUNG, too young to be apart of all of this but she’s been where he is, and damn if she isn’t impressed by the little boy that could. they finish the job, she gives him a piece of the profit and they separate ways.
it goes on like this for a few weeks, meeting up by pure chance, using each others natural talents to do what no one else could. he’s hot on the trail for the man who killed his parents, and vengeance is still at the forefront of his mind, but survival takes prominence. he gets word about tony zucco and makes his plans for revenge, but by then dick gets the notice that he’s being sent back to juvie for overpopulation. he can’t go back, and frankly he WON’T and the next time he sees catwoman, it’s when he’s trying to fashion a cardboard roof over his head, if only for the night. he’s young, and angry, and scared and selina takes him in. there’s so much ANGER directed at tony zucco and while dick won’t stop, selina knows of one way to get his mind off of it. catlad is born.
Since I have quite a few Genshin Impact blogs/ocs following me, I decided to make a Genshin Impact verse for a select few muses! That way it will be easier for Genshin Impact muses to interact, considering GenImpact is so lore-heavy. The muses in this verse are: Visal, Sovann, Feris, Edelweiss, Imelda, Therese, and Gael.
Visal - Shard of Shattered Legacy
A traveling scholar and alchemist gifted with a cryo vision, Visal is a bit of a solitary person filled to the brim with formal manner and abundant knowledge. He rarely uses his vision, though he’s quite an expert in archonic, and therefore vision-related, history. If asked about his upbringing, he’ll say that he did not know his birth parents except for the single fact that one of them was adeptal in some form, and that a foster family raised him. This is only a tiny truth concealing a huge lie. He only mentions having adeptal lineage because of the physical traits he cannot hide– horns, a tail, and paws where feet should be.
In truth, Visal is the fragile remnant of a people and ancient nation, Qwythaer, long since lost to the times– and to their own folly. In the age of gods, Qwythaer had sought to separate itself from Teyvat entirely and create its own heavens. It’s now little more than a forgotten myth. He holds tiny fragments of another within him: the pieces of the brutally slain deity titled “Herald of the Heavens”. But this deity was not killed by another during the climactic end of the archon wars. No, it was killed by the very creature meant to protect it and its people. He was not born but made in the midst of agony, rage, and grief of people with no hope. He now lives as a dethroned prince all too happy to be in rags. That’s not to say he’s content with life; currently he’s trying to track down where concentrated numbers of his people have dispersed, as his people will never be able to receive visions from the archons in power within present day. Not that he can give them visions; his powers outside of his cryo vision are limited to him. He’s also searching for the two who remember the bitter fate of his birthplace just as well as he does: Feris and Sovann.
Sovann - Moonlit Funerary
A creature similar to the near-extinct yaksha of Liyue. Sovann and their brood of siblings were raised and trained as the Herald’s guard dogs before the archon war and unleashed upon the world during the archon war. By all accounts, Sovann and their siblings could have been divine; but the Herald’s light far outshone that of Sovann’s kin. So be it. They and their kin never wanted godhood, nor did they want the taste of blood staining their mouths for another’s gain. And so Sovann reminded the Herald just what it was that protected it in times of dark: the moonlit glint of vengeful teeth.
Sovann now makes their way across Teyvat as nothing more than a ghost story to tell children who try to wander too far from the glowing light of houses at night. Do not trust the moonlight, for it makes you feel safe in hostile darkness. Their story is one of fable now. But they are very, very real. They make a living from finding hidden evidence and information, clearing domains and ruins, and translating ancient tablets– though it won’t be Mora you pay them with. Curiously, they can also be hired to attempt making contact with one of the seven archons… if you have the right bargaining chips, of course.
Feris - Sunbathed Stonewarden
A seasoned and rugged journeyman with a geo vision who hails from the foothills of Mondstadt near Dragonspine. He claims fealty to no archon or nation, choosing instead to live a life of roaming throughout Teyvat as a commissionable guide, bodyguard, companion, or explorer. Though seemingly no place is home, he knows most of the nations’ customs, languages, and histories as if all of them had once been his home at some point.
He has full, vivid memory of the Herald’s doomed people– Qwythaer, a name that has been lost to time, like so many other lands, gods, and peoples drowned in the sea of blood the archon war spilled upon the world. He was the final attempt at a legacy for the Herald. When he failed to inherit even a shred of divinity or the ability to adapt to the Herald’s false gnosis, he was tossed aside. It was Sovann and their siblings who ultimately took him in. He was sealed away when the war began to reach its climax– only to be freed by the brutal killing of his parent, the Herald. The last time he saw Sovann was that sun-kissed morning, eating the raw flesh from the Herald’s massive body. He and Sovann have certainly heard tales of each other, though there has yet to be a reunion. Something in Feris tells him it would be best to keep that distance: that something being a tiny shard of godhood as the Herald’s last heir sitting deep in his chest. Even so, he’s secretly looking for Sovann– though he couldn’t begin to tell you what his motives are.
Edelweiss - Flowering Springtime
A dendro-wielding adeptus who has foregone the battle front and turned to providing a place of rest and comfort instead. She runs an inn known as Hollyhock Haven, which can appear anywhere throughout Teyvat due to being located within a Serenitea Pot. The building itself can appear just about anywhere, the though heart and soul of it are stored away within that tiny pocket of reality. She welcomes all travelers into her care, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
Visions and delusions will not work inside her inn or on the premises of her inn. Any sort of violence will be rendered useless. Conspiratorial words turn to poison on the tongue that can nearly choke the life out of the speaker. All secrets are kept under lock and key; if one tries to share a secret that’s not theirs, their lips will become sealed by flowers and thorns. Any damage inflicted onto any item or person will fail to stick for longer than a second or two. Her inn is a realm of peace. She will not have it any other way. And should anyone truly try to threaten her or her guests– well, there’s a reason she survived through the archon wars and still prevails today.
Imelda - Voice of Hedonistic Abandon
An ex-Fatui who has willingly become an apostasy of the Tsaritsa and her people, Imelda now travels as a well-known (if not utterly taboo) authoress and songstress. Very few people will actually know who she is when they lay eyes on her. She’s changed quite a bit since her early, naive days beneath the rule of the cryo archon. She possesses an electro vision and a dendro delusion. There are rumors that the Imelda who used to serve the Tsaritsa succumbed to the awful havoc of her delusion, and her body was never recovered from the massive monster of vines and growth left behind. She would only smile cryptically at that tale.
She makes no efforts to conceal her amoral character and actively encourages others to follow their hearts– indeed, she wants everyone’s hearts to eat them alive, just as hers did. She holds no reverie for the archons, nor for people, nor for animals, nor for adepti, nor for flora, nor for the very earth she stands upon. After all, why offer reverence to that which is all dependent upon each other?
Therese - Disillusioned Archivist
A young woman from Mondstadt, Therese has been distanced from her family ever since her brother was lost to the abyss and her parents simply stopped acknowledging he had ever existed. At first, Therese went into training to become part of the clergy for the Cathedral. Upon her 16th birthday and having another near-death experience when faced with a pyro abyss mage, in which she received a hydro vision, Therese abandoned her post to train as a knight instead. She hasn’t been formally inducted into the knights yet. She’s doubting she ever will be, with the way she so curtly and coldly questions the system of power and process within Mondstadt. Still, she is often granted the right to take adventuring commissions and keep the people safe. She most often works as Lisa’s assistant and has started an impressive archival book of all the monsters she crosses paths with in Teyvat.
Gael - Glow of Unfamiliar Fire
A boy born into a village stuck in time, the first vision-bearer since the fall of Khaenri’ah. Almost everyone expected him to die before he was even three weeks old; he was premature, barely breathing, and wouldn’t take milk or water. But on the sixth day of his short, short life, he received a divine gift: A Pyro vision inlaid into the very hand that his mother had grasped only moments before, weeping for the loss of her child. Everyone in the village rejoiced. The child had survived and was the first to be blessed in centuries. Perhaps their sins were forgiven. Perhaps this was a sign for them and only them, that Celestia now had room for another. Surely that was why this ill-fated child had been granted a vision too young to even use it, stuck through its hand like a growth of fiery gemstone. If they raised him in accordance to Heavenly ordaine, perhaps they would be remembered forever. And with each year, each evolution of their miracle child, they became more and more convinced. He spoke languages unheard, he grew wings, he glowed like the sun, he gave blessings like the Adepti of Liyue.
But all turned to ash upon the boy’s seventeenth birthday– ash from the very vision they had worshipped, ash the same color as the salvation they yearned for. What they had failed to understand was that this vision was not a gift, but a curse. And now that curse wanders Teyvat, a stranger on familiar land, terrified but curious of the shadow of Abyss that nips at his heels with each turn….
Included here are all the current verses I have for Lightning ! Some are more developed than others, but as I explore more series and expand on her canon in other FF games, they’ll be added here too.
Included here are all the current verses I have for Lightning ! Some are more developed than others, but as I explore more series and expand on her canon in other FF games, they’ll be added here too.
