A note on the ones that 'should totally be the LR universe' - most of these were written before we knew about Hope's appearance or his role. So take it with a grain of salt ;)
light; what should be the Lightning Returns universe
Chaos had turned the world into despair, that much was easy to see. The fact that people could live for centuries didn't matter - what was the point, when everything you did was awash in sadness?
Sometimes Hope felt like he was the only one who had any sort of hold on…well, hope, and not just for the obvious reasons. It was because even now, after living for far longer than any man should have been able to, he could so easily recall the words Lightning had said in defiance before the first fall.
"When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some."
She was right. She always had been. And in a world that was full anguish, he was the only one who could do the looking.
It came when he'd traveled to the heart of the Chaos - Valhalla.
Etro's throne.
Lightning.
No…Light.
Because Lightning - in her own words - flashed bright and faded away. It couldn't protect, it only destroyed. But here she was now, a shining crystal that would give off light for eternity if she so allowed it. It was their one sliver of hope.
He knelt down in front of the throne, his expression longing as he stared at her crystallized form. Funny - he'd always thought that once he'd found her, everything would just fall into place. Her mere presence would fix everything and change the world.
How foolish he'd been, not that he minded. There was no way either of them could this alone.
Light could not exist without hope, after all.