![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
☇ Application for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cityofariel
→ OOC
□ Name: Cyr
□ Age: 25
□ Contact: AIM: Khaosanomaly | Plurk: Khaosanomaly
□ Journal: ![[personal profile]](https://f.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaos_anomaly
→ IC
□ Name: Lightning Farron
□ Series: Final Fantasy (XIII/XIII-2)
□ Canon point: Post-Prologue of Final Fantasy XIII-2, after sending Noel into the gate to find Serah.
□ History: http://finalfantasy.
□ Personality:
When we first see Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII, she appears to be a stand-offish, no nonsense, brusque women who doesn’t give a damn about anything other than her goal. She’s cold, distant and doesn’t talk much about herself unless she sees a need for it. When does she speak, however, she tends to speak dryly in a sarcastic and blunt manner. Her temper could also be seen as short when something does get on her nerves although most of the time, Lightning tends to keep her emotions bottled up inside and try to handle things on her own without the aid of others (thinking they will only interfere with her goals and/or slow her down).
We also know that if Lightning’s determination and unrelenting demeanor toward the successful execution of her goal can actually be a weakness for her. She tends to not think about what she’s doing other than what’s needed. When it’s revealed that she and the others had turned into L’Cie, Lightning soon devises a plot of vengeance against Sanctum. This plot was originally designed to be an outlet for Lightning’s anger and frustration at being a L’Cie and not being able to be her sister. It’s not until she and Hope reaches Palompolom does she get an epiphany that real reason behind her revenge. She needed an enemy blindly fight and the Sanctum was the perfect ‘scapegoat’. Lightning can become so determined toward something, she is able to lose sight of the bigger picture.
Later in the game, however, Lightning starts to show more positive emotions. With Hope, she takes on a motherly role, choosing to support him and be there if he needs her. On Gran Pulse (prior to Hope’s Eidolon’s appearance) Lightning tries to ease his discomfort about them being the only humans on Gran Pulse—something she wouldn’t have done if this happened in the earlier chapters of the game. Lightning even begins to accept that Snow as Serah’s fiancé, apologizing to him when they are reunited in Palompolom as well as affirming to him that they will see Serah again and that he will marry her sister in Chapter 11.
Lightning is very overprotective of Serah. Despite not being there often for her sister (due to her career choice and need to be a stronger person so she can take care of Serah), Lightning cares deeply for her, going to plan out a vacation away from their hometown in Bodham to spend time together on Lightning’s birthday. Lightning cares for Serah so much that she is willing to risk her life for her to save her in the first few chapters of Final Fantasy XIII, despite knowing that what the Purge really is (an extermination of everything Pulse). This compassion and loyalty toward her sister is later extended toward the other party members due to them bonding over their shared fate and acting together to achieve the same goal—to save Cocoon.
Because we don’t see Lightning in a romantic or even sexual relationship with anyone in the actual game and prequel media, it’s probably good to assume that Lightning would be a modest and hesitant person toward intimacy and relationships that aren’t strictly platonic. The only canon evidence we can use to base this assumption from is the one scene in Palompolom where Fang asks to see how much time Lightning has left before she turns Cie’th. To do so, Fang has to take a look at Lightning’s brand which is located somewhere on her upper chest area. Lightning actually shies away from Fang despite Fang’s reassurance as the latter takes a look under Lightning’s shirt to see the brand’s status.
It should be noted that Lightning is a fiercely loyal person who hates the idea of being a puppet or someone else’s slave. She’s independent and hates to depend on others although she doesn’t mind being a pillar of support to them. She rather have control over her own fate and destiny than let it be dictated to her. If anyone tries to wretch control from her, she’ll rebel against them and wouldn’t hesitate to strike them down. The idea of being a toy for some greater power will be something Lightning will never accept and always try to defy.
However, in the sequel, we see another side of Lightning. She willingly becomes Etro's protector when the Goddess asks for her aid. Despite being trapped in Valhalla, Lightning intentionally chooses to continue the good fight and combat her rival, Caius, to help preserve the fracturing timeline and save the world (and by extent, protect her sister) from the Chaos that threatens to take over her world and everything else. Had this happened in the first game, she might not have actually accepted Etro's proposal and chose instead to rebel and focus on her own needs. Yet, she decided to stay and fight as the Goddess's protector and keep Valhalla safe. If anything, that proves how selfless Lightning could be and how she grown from the woman who focused only on her sister's safety from the first game to someone who was willing to sacrifice their own future for the safety of the world.
Although Lightning does not have many scenes in the actual sequel's story, she does take a more melancholy persona. This is explicitly shown in how she interacts with Serah for the first time in the sequel during Chapter 5. Despite not being able to physically interact with her Serah prior to this meeting, Lightning choose to place more precedence in explaining Caius's motives and her role as Etro's protector. She did allow herself to give Serah some degree of comfort but from her gestures and speech, Lightning was acted somewhat differently than she did in the first game. She smiled more easily but then, it was her Sister she was speaking to. She also displayed deep remorse over the plight of the Blitz Squad, who had became trapped in a paradox apparently caused by her actions in the first game.
However when push came to shoved, Lightning still showed she still had that fire when Caius appeared before her to threaten the safety of Valhalla in the beginning of the second game. This determination to keep the timeline safe remained with her. For all her somberness, she still retained her feisty persona in a fight.
This girl might have been ultimately defeated at the end of the sequel but she didn't go down without a hard fight.
□ Age: 21
In Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning's age is stated to be 21. However, soon after she was swallowed by the Chaos after that game's events, she had remained trapped in Valhalla and spent 3 years there (according to Serah's narration). Despite that, she still retains the same physical appearance from the first game.
□ Gender: Female
□ Appearance:
Lightning’s appearance could be considered to be lithe and slim in terms of body shape with her legs quite honestly being her most attractive feature. Her hair is an eye-catching bubble-gum pink that she keeps swept to one side, over her shoulder. Eye color tends to be a striking shade of blue. Although she doesn’t quite show it, it’s obvious if one looks that her navel is pierced.
In Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning’s usual clothing attire is her Guardian Corps field outfit which comprises of a miniskirt, sleeveless jacket and shoulder pauldron with two glowing lines signaling her rank as a Sergeant on her right shoulder. She wears fingerless gloves with armor plating on the back of her hands. Notably on her left arm, there are two bracelets wrapped around her bicep. One bracelet is identical to one worn by her sister Serah, the other a simple black band. Around one of her legs is a bag held in place by belts wrapped around her thigh. She also carries a gunblade holster hanging suspended from her waist by her belt. This outfit is definitely the one she would be seen wearing the most in the City of Ariel.
However in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning's design was redone. Her face and hair style remained the same but her outfit was exchanged for an armor suit not unlike what mythical Valkryies may wear. It mainly consists of an armored breastplate with a gold bird ornament where her brand from the previous game was most likely located (it was never revealed on screened) and thigh-high armored boots. Her arm are covered by two bracers (forearm guards) and couters (elbow guards) with black fabric underneath them. On her elbows and knees, two spikes protrude from the joints. Completing this ensemble is a round shield inscribed with Etro script, a sash of feathers large enough to cover one leg completely and finally heavy leather tasset to cover the area below her breastplate. Conveniently, the tasset is comprised of multiple wide stripes of heavy leather. Pushing them aside reveals that Lightning is actually wearing a leotard underneath all that armor.
□ Abilities/Powers:
Like most, if not all playable Final Fantasy characters, Lightning is an extraordinary fighter. The best way to describe her abilities is to think of the classic Final Fantasy job of Red Mage. Now a Red Mage, to those who are unfamiliar with the franchise, is a person can both wield a weapon and conduct magic but is not an expert with both. They are a jack of all trades in combat but master of almost none.
For Lightning, if there is one thing she fully mastered it is the physical aspect of combat. She's a renowned swordswoman, having been able to master the intricacies of fighting with a complicated weapon like the gunblade. She's swift and agile and at times more like a gymnast than an actual soldier during a battle. She has sharp eyes, able to shoot and hit a target despite being in the midst of a back flip or in a freefall. She's not quite a sniper but given her skill with a gun and the accuracy of hitting a palm-sized crystal while freefalling, she's more than just good.
In terms of magic, however, the only true spell tree she has full mastery of is the Thunder spells. She can us all three tiers of the Thunder element whereas she can only conduct the weakest and medium damaging spells. She can cast cure to heal injuries but her ability cannot heal very severe or fatal wounds. She can also cast spells that can hinder an enemy (slowing them down, forcing their defense to weaken, etc). For herself, she could use spells to improve her odds of winning (increasing her physical strength, increasing the damage caused by her spells, make her quicker to attack a foe, etc.)
In addition, Lightning is also able to infuse her physical attacks with elemental properties. She is not alone in this ability but she is able to endow all elements (Thunder, Water, Fire, Ice) to a physical strike.
However, everything listed above details her abilities from Final Fantasy XIII. In the sequel, it is a little bit different but the same concepts of her fighting style remains the same. Lightning still excels in swordsmanship and sniping. After the events of XIII, her more extraordinary abilities and skills were removed due to canon circumstances (losing her l'Cie status).
Yet in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning was blessed by the Goddess Etro. She became Etro's Chosen, a protector of the Goddess's legacy. Afterwards, Lightning was able to use some of her previous skills/spells once more along with a few others.
The following is a list of abilities she is able to conduct in battle from the Downloadable Content, Requiem of the Goddess. In this add-on to the game, the player is actually able to take control of Lightning and fight as her for a good amount of time. The list also includes a few other skills she performed in the game's prologue.
· Attack (Deal physical damage to a single target, either a sword strike or piercing shot from her weapon's gun mode)
· Ruin (Deal non-elemental small magical damage to a single target by throwing a sphere projectile)
· Blitz (Deal physical damage to multiple targets in close proximity to one another with a 360 spinning move.)
· Ruinga (Deal non-elemental magical damage to multiple targets with a massive explosion)
· Launch (Launch a single target into the air if target is staggered/"disoriented" state)
· Smite (Deal critical damage to an aerial target recovering from staggered/"disoriented" state)
· Scourge (Deal critical damage to a ground target recovering from staggered/"disoriented" state)
· Thunder (Deal small amount of Lightning damage to a single target)
· Thundara (Deal medium amount of Lightning damage to a single target)
· Thundaga (Deal large amount of Lightning damage to a single area and every target in it.)
· Gale-strike (Deal small physical and Wind-attribute damage to a single target)
· Windstorm (Deal medium wind-attribute and physical damage to a single target)
· Bladestorm (Deal large wind-attribute and physical damage to multiple targets.)
· Immortality (Reduces damage taken and raises status ailment resistance)
· Mighty Guard (Removes buffs and bestows Protect, Shell, Veil and Vigilance on self)
· Aura (Removes buffs and bestows Bravery, Faith and Haste on Self)
· Chaos (Can inflict Debrave, Defaith, Deprotect, Deshell, Curse and Daze on a target)
· Lightning Strike - (Inflict Lightning-attribute damage on target and nearby foes)
· Focused Bolts - (Unleashed lightning attacks that drive an opponent back)
· Graviton Mines - (Sends out multiple spherical 'bombs; after a short time, an explosion scatters magical projectiles and damaging any within proximity)
· Gravity - (Attract any and all surrounding debris or loose materials to cage a target within.)
Though most terms may seem self-explanatory, for the sake of making this easier:
· Bravery = Increase Physical Strength
· Faith = Increase Magical Strength
· Protect = Increase Physical Defense
· Shell = Increase Magical Defense
· Veil = Increase status ailment resistance.
· Vigilance = Lower the chances of being "debuffed" or suffer a status ailment.
· Curse = Increase status ailment likelihood on an enemy
· Daze = Prevent a enemy from attacking for a brief moment of time
· Staggered/Stagger = Best way to explain it is that the enemy is disoriented by the amount of blows dealt and is more susceptible to damage. The ground target could also be launched into the air and be unable to attack for however long their disoriented state lasts. (This is unique to Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2, only)
· Anything with a "De-" prefix simply means that it is the opposite of what is stated above (i.e. DeBravery = Lower Physical Strength).
In addition to those skills, Lightning was granted a more powerful version of her signature move from the first game, Legion of One. This move consisted of very swift multiple sword slashes, kicks and shooting. In the game, the time actually slows down while Lightning is in the midst of this attack. It cannot be interrupted by an opponent while she is in the midst of conducting this combination. Nor can she be attacked by another enemy during this.
Lastly, Lightning has the ability to summon a creature to her aid. This ability is in both the first and second game. However, unlike in previous Final Fantasy games, Lightning only has one personal summon, the eidolon Odin.
To summon Odin, Lightning usually channels her magic through her Eidolith. In the first game, she actively shot her Eidolith to pieces but in the second game, she merely focuses her will through it. That second method is going to be the only way she would summon her Odin if she has to.
Odin has his own skill set and though he does have some sentience, he is merely a companion and guardian for Lightning. Her safety is his first and only priority. He doesn't speak in either game but will come to her aid with and without her asking for it. He mostly acts as a "Sentinel" for Lightning, a guardsman who is able to provoke any and all targets into focusing only on him. He wields a two-sided broadsword that is shaped like an S. His primary element for spell-casting is Thunder but he primarily uses physical strikes of his sword.
Like all Eidolons in Final Fantasy, he has a Gestalt mode which allows him to transform into a horse large enough for Lightning to ride into battle with. His sword splits into two and allows Lightning to hold one half in each hand.
During Gestalt mode, Lightning is able to channel Odin's signature move, Zantetsuken, a spinning sword strike that either guarantees instant-KO/Death or a large amount of damage to any and all targets.
□ Personal Items:
1. Blazefire Saber - Though Lightning is from Final Fantasy XIII-2 and is given a new weapon, my personal preferences is to allow her to keep her original game's signature weapon. Of the two, this gunblade has a name.
To those that don't know what a gunblade is, well, it's exactly what the name implies. It is a Gun and a Sword. Unlike other gunblades in the Final Fantasy franchise, Lightning's weapon has two interchangeable modes. The first mode is its blade mode. The second is a gun mode that seems to allow the weapon to be fired like a semi-automatic. Like most guns, the second mode does require bullets.
However, given that I don't think bullets would be easy to find in the game, Lightning's weapon will most likely remain in its blade form during a combat situation.
2. A pocket survival knife given to Lightning by her sister, Serah, as a birthday gift. It holds sentimental value and despite the knife appearing in New Bodhum in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and not with Lightning in Valhalla, I would still like to allow Lightning to have it in the game.
3. A pink rose crystal also known as her Eidolith. All l'Cie have an Eidolith. It's main purpose is to help the l'Cie to summon their personal Eidolon. For Lightning, her Eidolon is Odin who appears in both games to give her aid.
4. The armor given to her from Etro. It also includes a large feathered sash that Lightning wears at her waist. I'll let it to the mods' discretion if Lightning is able to keep the matching shield.
5. Her Guardian Corps uniform from the first game. These will be Lightning's more casual outfit and probably the one she'd be seen wearing the most often.
□ First Person Sample:
http://zodion.dreamwidth.org/
http://zodion.dreamwidth.org/
□ Third Person Sample:
http://ariel-ooc.dreamwidth.
http://ariel-ooc.dreamwidth.