GUYSANDOLLS APP
PLAYER
[journal] qing, visualosities
[age] 24
[previous characters] Aerith Gainsborough // Lyle Dylandy
CHARACTER
[series] FFXIII
[full name] Lightning "Claire" Farron
[age] 21
[gender] Female
[canon point] Post-FFXIII
[reference] http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Lightning_%28Final_Fantasy_XIII%29
[personality]
In a nutshell, Lightning Farron is the kind of chick who sets the standards for not getting fucked with. She's tough, she's no-nonsense, and she's badass in many ways; especially when it comes to violence and killing/hurting shit. She's a woman of few words -- verbally economical, cool with a remarkably short fuse; and, shall we say, kitty's got claws. And teeth. Well, at least, that's the impression that one gets from meeting her for the first time. She's aloof and distant from everyone, and it takes her a long time to warm up to somebody new, generally rather unfriendly and deeply socially awkward/inept/all other synonyms that properly relay a measure of social incompetence. It must be said that first and foremost, she is a soldier; with sharply honed tracking, fighting and survival skills, and a minimalist attitude that stresses efficiency above all else. Cutting with her words and seemingly ruthless/merciless in her actions, she stresses the adage of the survival of the fittest, and the fact that there are times when one cannot display sympathy, no matter how deserved it is. She's essentially a one-man army when it comes to fighting enemies and taking them on, plowing through as many of them as she can with a sassy, striking attitude - she is good at what she does, and when she's fighting, she knows it.
But that's not all she is. Under that prickly, relentlessly merciless exterior is a compassionate, rather kind-hearted woman who just has plenty of issues. She's full of contradictions and complications, with layers of personality under that deceptively uncaring exterior.While Lightning lashes out in anger very quickly, she also simmers down rather quickly as well, and can empathize with others to a certain extent. In fact, there are times when one can say that she's caring and well, -- gentle, too. In a way. But on the other hand, highly independent and more predisposed to being a loner than to work in teams, Lightning struggles with people and interacting closely with them. She's a lone wolf, not a pack creature, and often prefers her own company to others. More often than not, she does not quite know how to put her point across in a way that will not rub people the wrong way/irritate/alienate them, and the problem is that she doesn't quite care. She's straightforward, blunt, simple, with a loathing for lies and all sorts of tricks. She also has a lot of pride, unwilling to admit that she's wrong -- at least, at first. She learns quickly after that.
She's incredibly stubborn, prideful, and a veritable force of nature, much like the name she had chosen for herself; and tends to go overboard when pushing things to their breaking point. Of course, one can also call that passion, or obsession, especially when that is done in order to achieve her goals; be it saving her sister or her friends. She's smart, intuitive and perceptive -- most of the time. Lightning is also outwardly detached when it comes to most things, preferring to keep her secrets instead of confiding in others. She keeps her secrets, and does not expect any sort of understanding from her companions in turn. She's not the type of person who likes to play games, either. She either likes you, or she doesn't. And if she doesn't, it's going to take a very long while to prove yourself to her.
Lightning is driven, determined, focused and cunning when it comes to evading the soldiers hunting her down. Very much goal oriented at times, she has the incredible ability to stick to it until she accomplishes the mission, never letting anything stand in the way. However, she is also very easily annoyed and easy to rile up -- while Lightning never throws tantrums; at least, not that obviously, her temper, while relatively short, is still dangerous. If she cannot lash out with weapons, she does so with words, and everything else, using her anger as an outlet for all the emotional turmoil she goes through -- and more often than not, she ends up seriously hurting the people she cares for/who care for her. She is naturally protective in many ways, oft-serious and highly capable and talented in her line of work. She has to be -- because she's forced to grow up too quickly thanks to the deaths of her parents, becoming an adult and abandoning her childhood in order to ensure that Serah still has one. Nonetheless, she regrets none of it; and is happy enough making sure that Serah has the life that she's always wanted, even if she evidently had made a crappy choice (in her opinion) in choosing Snow for a boyfriend.
She holds herself up to a very, very high standard that one can almost call 'punishing', and she expects the same of others, having little to no tolerance for fools if they fall short of it. It's very obvious in the way she views Snow and NORA, the group that he heads in Bodhum - it is clear that she thinks very little of them and their operations, and doesn't bother hiding it. She is disciplined, strong and resourceful, with sharp senses and lightning quick reflexes that make her such a deadly fighter; but it's the strength in her attitude that is the most obvious. It's a sort of moral code, or moral compass that she lives by, and while Lightning has become relatively more accepting as time goes on, eventually even accepting Snow and Serah's relationship, it doesn't mean that she's grown completely lax with them. While she doesn't stick to them too rigidly anymore, she still has much to learn in regards to one-on-one social interactions. She might be emotionally distant/stunted, but it is a flaw borne from years of forcing herself to be strong enough to give Serah the life she wants and needs, but still a very devoted big sister at the end, enough to do damn near anything just to get Serah back.
While Lightning is strong, she is not invincible, and she harbors fears and secrets and regrets and weaknesses just like any other person. Only - she tends to express it as anger and prefers to push everyone else away while she's at it. Evidence of it is in the earlier part of the game, where she's a frosty, stand-offish snarky bitch to the people she first meets; and one only realizes that she is what she is because of her failure to believe in Serah and protect her when she needed it. She admits it later; which shows that she has the humility to know when she's wrong, and the courage to face up to it instead of carrying on and pretending that nothing is wrong. She can be rash and impatient from time to time; rushing headlong into danger without thinking, but more often than not, she puts thought into the things she does, and can be considered quite the strategist in her own right, even if she's not as good as the more experienced officers in the series. Lightning is not a static character, able to only be defined by a few words; because her responses are always differing and varied. But at the core of her; it is very simple. She is a soldier, a woman, a sister, a mentor, a comrade.
In the beginning of the series, it is shown that Lightning has one hell of a lot of anger, but after all the events of FFXIII, it is evident that she has mellowed out considerably; even if it's not fully. Lightning has learned the value of having people around her and taking care of them. While she had lost her temper at Hope, she had later taken him under her wing - so to speak - and had begun to teach him things in her own way. She's even comforted him when it came to the loss of his mother, and had taken special care to look out for him when she can. Perhaps she sees him as a kindred soul, having lose their loved ones at such a young age, one would never quite know; but the fact remains that she cares very, very deeply for him. She is a person who is incapable of sugarcoating her words, making it easier for people to swallow them -- in fact, she's pretty much blunt to her fault, her words often sharp and unpalatable, but necessary. When not riled up, she is resilient, practical and generally sensible, not prone to idealists wanderings, preferring to have both feet on the ground. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that she is capable of having people that she cares for very much. Hope is one of them, together with her sister Serah. Even if she is incapable of showing it the conventional way, or even saying it at most times, it's obvious that her actions are louder than her words, and she's not entirely without heart, much like her sharp, hurtful words sometimes tends to display.
And sometimes, her bark is worse than her bite.
While she still retains her fiercely independent and reticently taciturn streak, it is clear that she possesses a few key leadership skills. In lighter moments, it is shown that she has a deadpan sense of humor at times, dry and droll and altogether rather unfunny, even if she can be very witty at times. While emotionally retarded, it doesn't mean that she's incapable of feeling anything at all. In fact, she can be quite emotional and squishy, especially when one's already breached that mile wide defense mechanism she's built all around herself. Yes, she has a violent streak, and yes, you might be punched in the head once or twice before she would be anything resembling nice to you, but it is there -- she just tends to practice a lot of tough love most of the time. Soft smooshy love just won't cut it, sister -- she's not a romantic, not at all.
It is still not easy for her to connect to people, or to even make friends, but she's loosened up enough during the series. When one knows her well enough, one will discover that she is also a person who tends to be able to sacrifice anything to save her loved ones. Bound by a strong code of honor and an equally strong sense of responsibility, Lightning is very loyal to her friends -- see the end of FFXIII, where she goes on another mission to save both Fang and Vanille by herself. After all, friends don't just leave friends to their own fates, after all that they'd gone through together.
[orientation] Unknown. Due to the fast-pace/intensity of events in the game, there are zero indication of her interest in any gender.
[appearance]
[wish] To rescue Vanille and Fang and make sure everyone back home is safe and happy. She wishes for peace + happiness for all her loved ones.
[requested house] Mokuhi Household
[misc notes] -
SAMPLES
[sample 1#] http://community.livejournal.com/dear_mun/32539033.html
[sample 2#]
[ it has been a quiet few days in shiruku, and -- faced with nothing very much to do by way of beating/killing/punching things, and with someone like mikoshiba shouta as constant company, it is little wonder that lightning's patience is very much fraying. they have an odd way of getting along, a liaison of dislike, near constant snark and barbwire, but a rare sort of respect and camaraderie that had been rocky at the start. with lightning's often impassive, distant nature and tendency to display strict, military tendencies, she had been put at odds with shouta's carelessly, charmingly (mostly, especially when not at work) cavalier nature -- and there is something about him that is off, something that irritates her, a woman with an unerringly straightforward way of doing things.
if not for that careless dark hair and bright, bright blue eyes, lightning would have thought that shouta had somehow taken a few leaves out of snow's book, especially when it comes to annoying her.
in turn, she is more than aware of how he is at odds with her individualistic, often callous nature amidst other things, the habit to go off on her own as a lone wolf, relying on nothing and no one but herself. her compassion is subtle, written between the harsh lines of her words and actions - fleeting, like the lightning she is named after.
but this evening finds her wandering into an empty dojo -- a training hall, she is told -- observing the wooden practice swords neatly set on racks on the walls. boots making soft, quiet sounds on the hardwood floors, lightning pauses in the middle of it; and thinks that if she concentrates, she can imagine the dozens and dozens of students and their partners, training, dreaming of the day when they would finally use those skills, go up against those much stronger.
and she wonders. had it been the same for her, before?
she doesn't remember. ]