You and I are partners, Hope.

Shipping wars will always be something I just don’t understand. People get really uptight about whether their characters are canon or not, and they also get really anal about other people ‘not liking their ship’, which to me is just a cop-out. That’s like yelling at people for not liking bananas. Not everyone likes them!

Some of the Hope/Light fans are adamant they will get together because of some of the teasers in the interviews, as well as Hope’s bigger role and the fact that we know they’ll be interacting in Lightning Returns. It’s okay to hope and be watchful of the news, but I feel like some of the fans will be very disappointed if nothing happens or their relationship is totally platonic, which we will of course see blow up in the tags if that happens.

The thing is, people will have their own opinions and you shouldn’t let them affect your anticipation and open mind for the game. Whether they’re canon or not, fans will always celebrate the couples they love in their own ways - which is why fanfiction and fanart exists! Sure, it’d be great if it was canon, but we all have to be prepared that Squeenix will probably, as they usually do, leave it ambiguous so that the fans can interpret it as they please. Just look forward to the game and enjoy the anticipation and excitement of not knowing!

Hope? There is no hope.
There’s you.

stromerx:

Eternal Love by ~Stromer

UUUAAARGH…!
It’s been almost one year since my las Final Fantasy picture?! WTF?!
Well, it was definatelly time for anew one, wasn’t it?
And what could be better than a little HopeLight picture? C:

Well… little haha. The poses are pretty simple, because I wanted to practice colouring. Eh… I worked on that thing for a few hours without a break, I’m dead X__X
I already dislike Hope’s face, nooooooooo <.<

And they’re in a crystal landscape because fuck reason, that’s why. Yeah, that’s supposed to be crystal V__V

Not at all! That’s the reason I made this blog so long ago (over two years!?) so that we could enjoy their relationship however we interpreted it. It doesn’t matter how we see them, the point is we all celebrate them as two amazing characters who play off each other so well. And of course to celebrate fanart, fanfiction and general fangirling about them ;D

Just a little opinion thing I wanted to share on how I view Hope and Lightning’s relationship. You guys don’t have to agree with me, but I hope it’s something fun to interpret :)

When it comes to Hope, I think by the end of FF13 he has an admiration for Lightning. He sees her at first as a role model who knows what she wants and will not let anyone hinder her, but he later sees her flaws as they travel together. Lightning is not afraid of showing (or at least hinting at) this fragile side to Hope, and I think because of that he feels he has some kind of significance in her life and it makes him want to make her proud. When Lightning disappears and Hope strives to find a way to bring his friends back, this could be the time where his feelings slowly grow more fonder for her. We could argue that this could apply to Vanille as well, but I think with Vanille he doesn’t see himself and her having a special relationship (as in, some kind of bond that makes himself feel unique to her and vice versa). I imagine that when he sees Vanille and Fang’s relationship (whether romantically or just a sisterly bond), he thinks more about him and Lightning as a pair compared to himself and Vanille. Hope and Vanille are more like two people who share a common interest and are also the youngest of the group, making it easier for them to be good friends. I think the biggest hint of Hope’s feelings for Lightning is at the end of FF13-2 (spoilers for those who haven’t finished the game!), Hope wants to see Lightning just as much as Serah in the final battle in Valhalla, and is visibly upset when Serah tells him he can’t go with them (they do not explicitly say Lightning, but when Serah says she will bring her back, Hope gives a smile and it is obvious who is the one mentioned).

For Lightning, I don’t think she sees Hope exactly on the same level, but she does see him as someone important in her life. While Lightning’s feelings are not more obvious to write about, just seeing her actions when dealing with people makes it easier to read her. In the beginning, Lightning sees Hope as a nuisance to her, but when she realizes that he wants to get stronger, she forgives his flaws and tries to help him with his goals. More likely, Lightning sees Hope as a student while she is his mentor. When she does begin to worry about him though (e.g. the time when she realizes that Hope may do something to Snow), it sheds light that their bond is actually stronger than that, seeing as she begins to dwell more on his personal well being when before she wouldn’t exactly express strong sentiments to him. By the end of FF13 (and FF13-2, since Lightning doesn’t exactly interact with Hope as much), I think the bond is more or less on the basis of that, that she cares about him to the point where it could be like family.

However, I think the biggest question in the end though is: Would it ever work? Yes, I’m optimistic about them. What makes their pair so much sweeter is that fact that their relationship helps us see into Lightning’s psyche. Whatever Lightning does with Hope, it is clearly visible to us what she is thinking, and I think this is important because Lightning is someone who doesn’t make her feelings known to us. While Lightning can tell us through narration how she is feeling, I think it is her actions that make her more of an appealing character, and seeing how much she opens up when she interacts with Hope brings out her character so much more. Not to say this relationship is all about her, but I think Hope is more aware of his ability to be able to make Lightning open herself up more, and he possibly sees a potential between them and wants to explore it. I don’t believe Lightning sees this yet, but with Hope now being older than her and they are finally going to be interacting in LRFF13, I think she might realize this on her own too.

Whether or not Lightning sees this as a romantic thing is all up to her though, and there is also the bigger possibility that all these signs are wrong and really they just see themselves as a brother/sister relationship. Whichever one it is, at least they make a great pair in helping each other :)

Here’s a submission from tasoku about their opinion on Hope and Light! Feel free to send in your own!

できたら僕もライトさんを守れたらって

Let’s take a closer look at the game:

Hope is fourteen years old, suddenly without a mother and an exiled citizen with a bunch of strangers. Although there’s no doubt in my mind Hope grew incredibly close to Lightning and grew to depend on and admire her, I’m not sure he’d exactly have the time or inclination to suddenly start exploring his feelings for her as a crush. Plus as I’ve stated before, the age difference is a big factor for me and I prefer them together when they’re older (which we might just get!!). I definitely think Hope, being a naive young boy and still maturing emotionally, saw Lightning as a perfect pillar of strength to support him through his transition into a more mature young adult, and has a deep platonic/fraternal infatuation with her. And who knows, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and while Lightning was gone and he worked so hard to come up with a way to find her, maybe he did start developing a crush! This is all completely up to everyone’s individual thoughts, though. In fact, if you guys have a different opinion you’d like to share, don’t be afraid to submit it!

So it’s like 1AM for me right now, but it still counts as being Monday!! XD Happy April Fool’s~! Unfortunately, I’m not one to prank around on this holiday, so this is no joke. I do have a scanlation for you all. ^^

You can download the doujinshi at the HopeXLightning Livejournal Community HERE. Remember, ONLY MEMBERS will be allowed to view the post. If you haven’t joined the community yet, please do so.
Also it would make me so, soooo~ happy if you left some feedback or even a simple thanks. You have no idea how encouraging it is to hear your comments! And thank you to those that always do! ^^ Please enjoy!

Sorry for the delay and thanks once again for your wonderful contributions tensai-shoujo!