Ever since I played FFXIII, I have been stymied by one thing. I never even knew it was a thing until I read TVTropes' YMMV page for XIII.

Lightning/Hope being the most popular fanon ship in the series. What the hell? The YMMV page says "The Hope and Lightning Ship Tease is not very subtle." it wasn't subtle because it didn't exist at all.

I don't care about age. I care about the fact this does not exist in the game. The relationship between Hope and Lightning isn't romantic, it's a traumatized little boy clinging to an older female authority figure. Lightning was never anything but a surrogate mother to him when he needed someone.

Meanwhile, the only Ship Tease I saw in the game has never been reported on the YMMV page. I've been periodically checking for the last few years but nope. That ship of course is Hope/Vanille, which I have supported ever since their first few scenes together. In fact, I'd like the game a lot more if they had more interactions.

But yeah Hope and Vanille ven get a whole Shipperific scene together on Pulse! And this was the "real" Hope. You know, a Hope who isn't insane with grief. In fact, both Hope and Lightning had their heads so far up their own asses when they were traveling together that it's very unlikely they ever truly saw one another at all.

Now, you might say this is just me ranting because my ship isn't more popular, but it is popular and I have the videos and fanart to prove it. I just legitimately do not comprehend Lightning/Hope. There's nothing to it whatsoever.

While Hope and Vanille have this: