Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here:
These are recommendations made by Tropers for Final Fantasy XIII Fan Fics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.
Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual or non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.
Authors and Websites
- Recommended by ArcVaranus
- An excellent author with plenty of Lightning/Hope stories of all flavors - humorous, familial, friendship, romantic and even tragic moments. Very much recommended for anyone who enjoys their interactions. Bad Beginnings
in particular deserves a mention as a wonderful portrayal of their friendship.
RainbowSerenity
- Recommended by Hello83433
- One of the few still active authors of the fandom, she has Hope and Lightning's characters practically memorized and specializes in writing romantic fiction with the two. Her Royal AU gets a special shoutout simply for the various hilarious situations the characters find themselves in.
Evolution
by Darkgirl5- Recommended by Jinxed Blackcat, Fugacious
- Status: Dormant
- Synopsis: Lightning counts on herself and fights by herself. Now fate and a focus have tied her to this ragtag group of people. She seeks her own path to vengeance. Hope chooses to walk that road with her. Tale begins in the Vile Peaks. No pairing. Spoilers and AU.
- Comments: It's Adventure/Horror. The primary focus is on the L'Cie turning into the monstrous Cie'th, and the L'Cie having a collective memory they involuntarily access and trade memories with, losing and recovering pieces of whole memories.
- Non Laser Guided Amnesia! Memory loss/trades. Both episodic and semantic memories too! Really, how do you think you learned magic in the first place, only magic casters in the world?
New World, New Crystal, New Ragnarok
by BiJane- Recommended by bluedragonx
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Hope/OC
- Synopsis: Set four years after the game, Cocoon City governor Bartholomew Estheim is at a peace rally to defuse racial tensions between Pulse survivors and Cocoon transplants when a bomb does off and he is injured. Hope sets off to solve the mystery of this bombing and the mystery of a teenage Gran Pulsian girl helping him, one claiming to the daughter of Vanille...
- Comments: This story with one of the more interesting plot twists and one of the few FF13 fanfics where Hope isn't treated as a whiny kid and more as an adult with the same determination to keep aiming for his current goal. The OC is a very interesting and compelling character. All in all, a great read.
Awakening
by BiJane- Recommended by bluedragonx
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Fang/Vanille (yuri)
- Synopsis: In the distant future, Fang and Vanille are extracted from crystal, and given a new chance to live their lives. But is all as safe as it seems?
- Comments: Darker and Edgier than NWNCN, this story's twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end of this very worthwhile read. Characterization is also very spot on.
Broken Moments
by Kirasel- Recommended by subzero008
- Status: Dormant
- Synopsis: Trapped in the universe of Final Fantasy XIII, OCs try to do what all OCs do. They should have thought about the consequences. A collection of oneshots.
- Comments: Very dark, some disturbing. Based on The_Life_and_Death_of_Mary_Sue.
Headed West
by Raziel12- Recommended by Leradny
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: The Estheim family is headed West, but to make the journey they'll need a guide. A Western-themed AU.
- Comments: Based loosely off Shane by Jack Schaefer, with Lightning as the catalyst for Hope's coming-of-age story, the author mixes a rugged wilderness trek with snatches of Lightning's mysterious past, characters from other Final Fantasy games make an appearance, and there are a few touches of humor to balance things out.
No Clues
by wingeddserpent- Recommended by Leradny, moooomoooo
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Hope's learning some hard lessons. Set after game. Major spoilers for the entire game. Note: This work contains violent and disturbing themes. Hope-centric. Gen.
- Comments: Told in second person, this story is a bleak look at the way civilization rebuilds after the fall of Cocoon, continuing to shun the l'Cie despite efforts on the group's part to help out. Yet despite injuries, undeserved hatred, and general hard living, the bonds formed between the group only grow stronger.
Tainted Fal'Cie
by Tear of Light- Recommended by Tsukinoimai, K0yuk 1-san, bluedragonx
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: With the fall of Orphan and the disappearance of the Fal'Cie, an ancient evil rises to finish what Orphan started. Only the former l'Cie have the power to stop it. But with two of their own missing, can they beat it? Set post game.
- Comments: Beautifully written. The story deals with the group's life after Cocoon's fall. And many problems that come to them. Expect many cliffhangers and suspense. Many elements from Fabula Nova Crystallis. And there's a prequel: Finding Home.
Etro's Keepers
by Tear of Light- Recommended by bluedragonx
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: With the fall of Cocoon and the disappearance of their brands, Lightning and the former l'Cies thought they had lost their Eidolon partners forever. Now a year later, their Eidolons return. But not in the way they expected. Hilarity ensues. Post game. AU
- Comments: The story is just full of funny, cute, and character development to boot. Highly recommended.
What if Final Fantasy XIII Was Good? by Thaeonblade pt 1
pt 2- Recommended by: TheOtakuNinja
- Status: Dormant
- Comments: Technically, this is not so much an actual fic as it is a layout of how the writer (who has already deconstructed all the game's problems) would have done Final Fantasy XIII... but the way he goes about it is enough to make one wish this was how the actual game turned out... And while this series is incomplete, there may be more in the future.
Always In Repair
by H-thar- Recommended by: ArcVaranus, The Giant Rock
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lightning/(Older)Hope
- Synopsis: Lightning comes out of crystalstasis in the middle of a revived conflict with PSICOM, the last l'Cie to wake after the fall of Cocoon. Hope has a five-year head-start, but even his expert mechanical skills can't fix the bigger problems of their future.
- Comments: A fic with a clever AU twist on the ending, in that the world's conflicts only begin with the fall of Eden. Excellent world building, the plot focus on PSICOM and the Guardian Corps who are locked in a war over who and how the world should be lead, but fortunately the former l'Cie are not without friends. Characterization is done well, Hope is still Hope despite being older and wiser and Serah is always fun to read. The story really comes into its own around half-way through when Lightning gets to flex her army skills once more. All in all, a great read.
Ordinary Heroes
by Raziel12- Recommended by: AvatarWanderful
- Status: Dormant
- Pairing(s): Lightning/Fang, Snow/Serah, Hope/Vanille
- Warnings: Femslash, AU
- Synopsis: Fang and Lightning might have been able to survive the fal'Cie, but can they survive their own children? The life and times of the Yun-Farron family, told snippet by snippet.
- Comments: An absolutely wonderful series of one-shots. The series brings smile after smile to the face of the reader and the various kids are very well characterised. The universe also includes The Cookie Jar, Collectibles Are Fun, A Very Farron Christmas and Tell Me A Story.
Paradox
by YGP- Recommended by: Hello83433
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lightning/(Older)Hope
- Synopsis: To prevent her father's death, Faith Estheim will do whatever it takes to save him even if that means traveling back through time. Can she save her family before it's too late?
- Comments: This is an absolute treat for any Hopurai shippers. It tells of a story set in XIII-2's universe(but ignoring the ending) in which Hope and Lightning settled down and had a family. Yet, this fanfic doesn't focus on domestic life for the pair so much as the time travel, paradoxes, and assassination attempts that their daughter, Faith, is trying to straighten out.
Meeting You
by arrowsofartemis- Recommended by CrayonCalendar
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Hope Estheim adjusts to life in the new world, and has found all of his old friends, except one: Lightning. When he finally finds her, she has no memories of the old world, and he vows to help her to remember.
- Pairing: canonical pairings, Fang/Vanille, Hope/Light
- Tags: XIII-2, Lightning Returns, The New World, France
- Comments: A great story, that still affects me on an emotional level just thinking about it. It sucks that the author has deleted it on one of his channels for some unknown reason, but the story still exists in AO3, and my phone! The story is under-appreciated, so here it is.
One part Final Fantasy XIII + at least one part (insert title[s]) = the following...
Ivalice Alliance
- Recommended by: Shinji 117, Pepper-Jak
- Crossover with Final Fantasy XII
- Pairing(s): Lightning/Balthier, Snow/Ashe
- Stats: Complete with four sequels: Bad Bromance, 24, Revenant , and Time's Scar (all Complete). There are also a few spin-off stories: Clarity (which is missing from the internet), Starstruck Bromance (a collection of "deleted" scenes; Complete), and This Fate (Complete).
- Synopsis: Balthier is dropped into Final Fantasy XIII as a portion of Ragnarok. At the end of the first story he's sent back to Ivalice. Next, Snow gets sent over into Final Fantasy XII in search of Balthier. Then there is a small arc where Balthier returns to Final Fantasy XIII to drop Snow off back home, and ends up returning with both Snow and Lightning. Then, in the Revenant Wings arc, Lighting ( as an Eternal, due to events in the last arc) fights Feolthanos in an attempt to make Balthier an Eternal also. Final Fantasy Tactics arc is finished, and a alternate story for Final Fantasy XII is in progress.
