Claire Farron | l'Cie curse

Lightning (Claire Farron) is the main protagonist of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, known for her stoic demeanor, pink hair, and gunblade weapon. She is a former soldier who becomes a l'Cie, tasked with saving her world, Cocoon, and later becomes a protector of the goddess Etro, ultimately becoming the savior of her dying world in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. She is a central figure in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series and has appeared in numerous other Final Fantasy and crossover games.

Lightning is a young woman with wavy rose pink hair draping over her left shoulder and pale aqua eyes. Lightning's eye color is officially noted as blue, though in the FMVs and promotional art, they often appear green due to green aspects around the pupil. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments Before, Serah says that Lightning resembles their mother.

Lightning has the most extensive set of outfits out of any character in the series: she has over ninety different ensembles, including crossover and downloadable costumes. In Final Fantasy XIII, she wears a variation of the standard Guardian Corps uniform consisting of a white sleeveless coat with an ankle-length red cape attached to the left side of her back and a light brown miniskirt with a burgundy red leather detachable pocket on her left leg. Lightning wears blue fingerless gloves with a black arm cover on her left arm and buckled brown boots with metal soles. The green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder bears yellow glow-in-the-dark stripes denoting her previous rank as a sergeant. She carries her gunblade in a black case that hangs off her belt and wears a silver necklace with a lightning bolt pendant. Her l'Cie brand is located slightly above her left breast. She has a navel piercing, although it can be hard to spot.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning wears a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with a shield on her left arm (though it's on the right arm in her CG render). She has a new gunblade that more closely resembles a traditional doubled-edged sword engraved with Etro script. She no longer has the navel piercing she did in Final Fantasy XIII. This attire has come to be known as the Knight of Etro.

Art Director Isamu Kamikokuryo consistently draws Lightning and Serah with blonde hair in concept art, despite their more "official" appearances. Additionally, Kamikokuryo's Lightning concept art for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has black armor with gold or white outlines, possibly contributing to Lightning's design in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, where she has black armor.

During Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning has many costumes. Her default outfit, Equilibrium, is overall similar to what she wore in Final Fantasy XIII-2, but acts as a fusion of Lightning's clothes from XIII and XIII-2. It has a split cape and chaps that homage her Guardian Corps uniform. The Night Lotus shield on her left arm and the Crimson Blitz sword in her right hand are in homage to her Eidolon Odin.[2] The symbol from the game's logo appears on her outfit several times: on her chest, her sword, and her shield.

Lightning's eidolith is a pink rose bloom and red petals flourish when she summons Odin and changes it into Sleipnir in Gestalt Mode.

At the end of Lightning Returns, she alights a train wearing a white dress shirt, brown slacks, and black high heel sandals.

Lightning is determined, concentrated, and independent. She's initially cold and detached, distancing herself from her companions, only looking out for herself, and not caring if others get left behind. Lightning's perception of failing to protect Serah drives her, leading her to lash out at those who she believes are responsible for her fate: the Sanctum, its fal'Cie, and, to a point, Snow Villiers for his relationship with Serah and his failure to protect her as he promised. While journeying with Hope Estheim, she acts as his mentor and motherly figure. Taking him under her wing, Lightning becomes more emotionally open; Hope serves as a surrogate sibling and helps her realize the errors in her approach and her mistakes with Serah. Lightning begins to show compassion and trust others and becomes the leader and, to a degree, protector of the other Gran Pulse l'Cie as they journey to challenge their fate.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise- reveals that Lightning is better at housework than Serah, but Serah is the better cook. Lightning describes their father as easy-going, passionate, but not always reliable—similar to Snow—possibly explaining her initial hatred towards him.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning is almost a new woman due to the experiences and emotions that she has endured. She has learned to trust others and ask them for help and express her feelings rather than keeping them bottled up. Her recognition of her past "sins" has made her melancholier.

In Lightning Returns, Lightning is initially cold and distant. Most of her emotions have been sapped from her, although her memories remain intact. Her wish to save Serah remains and she still shows concern for her former allies. Lightning and Hope demonstrate trust and care for one another, with Hope promising to be by her side, helping Lightning better maintain her humanity despite her situation. She resents Bhunivelze for robbing her of her emotions and exploiting her circumstances to his advantage.

Because of her assigned task to save souls, Lightning begins to show compassion toward others. Straying from her cold-hearted personality, she begins to encourage those struggling, implying that she unconsciously had given up her emotions rather than Bhunivelze taking them with force, which Lumina further suggests. Producer Yoshinori Kitase describes Lightning as trying to rescue herself from the pain she hides in her heart through saving others; her heart stayed "pure" in her crystal sleep instead of being corrupted by darkness like Noel's and Snow's hearts.[3] By the end of her quest, Lightning comes around from her self-imposed rigid and emotionless warrior persona, as Serah and Lumina, along with all her experiences, help her realize that locking her heart away is how she discarded her happiness.

Lightning has a prankish side, as she considered bonding with Serah through the sport of Moogle Throw.

Lightning is a capable combatant, defeating many trained PSICOM soldiers on her own. Besides being adept in swordplay and marksmanship with her gunblade, she is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. After becoming Etro's champion, Lightning's prowess as a warrior allows her to stalemate and later defeat Caius Ballad, an immortal with centuries of experience. As the savior, Lightning can even fight Bhunivelze.

Lightning gains the ability to cast magic as a l'Cie and displays utilitarian aptitude; thunder magic is her specialty. Her Eidolon is Odin, whom she can ride as her steed while dual-wielding the Zantetsuken. Although no longer a l'Cie, she regains her magical abilities after becoming Etro's Champion and displays more advanced magical prowess than Serah and Noel. Her ability to use magic remains as she becomes the savior. While in Valhalla, Eidolons answer her call and she can send messages via dreams to those residing in the mortal realm.

As the savior, Lightning can collect Eradia from those who find peace and yield it to the magical tree Yggdrasil. Her status as the savior allows her access to the Temple Ruins.