Final Fantasy XIII/Fanfic Recs

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 homosexual 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.

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Authors and Websites

Haikomori

• Recommended by Arc Varanus
• 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.

General Fics

Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.

Evolution by Darkgirl5

• Recommended by Fugacious
• 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
• 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 FF 13 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 little Mary Sue-ish but still a very interesting and compelling character. All in all, a great read.

Awakening by BiJane

• Recommended by bluedragonx
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.

Shipping Fics

Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

Always In Repair by H-thar

• Recommended by: Arc Varanus
• 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.

Crossover Fics

One part Final Fantasy XIII + at least one part (insert title[s]) = the following...

Ivalice Alliance

So Starstruck by ElTangoDeRoxanne

• Recommended by: Shinji117, Pepper-Jak
• Pairing(s): Lightning/Balthier, Snow/Ashe
• Stats: Complete with four sequels: Bad Bromance, 24, Revenant , and Time's Scar. There are also a few spin-off stories: Clarity, Starstruck Bromance (a collection of "deleted" scenes), and This Fate (which is still in progress).
• 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.