Disturbances in the Lifestream (Plot things yay!)

[Griever]

It seems that the Merge had some unforeseen side effects, ones just now being discovered. Those who have died are living again, though they can't explain it any more than the people who have found their loved ones returning to them. Some have gone on a search for the cause, but none have yet found the reason.

Unknown to most, there are places throughout the world where mako from the Lifestream now leaks out. And it isn't just the Lifestream. The energy in the Farplane, swirling and flowing for so long, has also begun to ebb into the world. It is hard to say what effects this could have, but it isn't only those who were good that died...

--

There's a lot of plot potential for this little development, so I'd like to do something with it! Anyone have anything that could tie in? Let's get a nice plotty discussion going!

[Hiko]

Excuse me for a moment.

"And so, the world erupted in an explosion of Phoenix Downs, and zombies reigned supreme."

I'm going to go fangasm at the idea of Rachel returning to life. I'll return when I'm more coherent. <3

[kalypso]

This is me just throwing random ideas around... -puts thinking cap on!- Feel free to reject any of these, haha, since Kal in plot mode usually results in crazy ideas...

Anyway, as soon as you mentioned the Farplane, I remembered this plot point in X-2...

If the Farplane energy can bring people back to life, wouldn't it be natural for some villians to want to bottle it up, capture its essence somehow? If they could, perhaps they could find a way to make themselves truly immortal, so they wouldn't have to worry about possibly dying again. It'd be a lot safer than using Lifestream energy, I think, since that's processed into Mako and Mako = no good for the body.

If the Lifestream is leaking in certain areas, would that call for another Geostigma panic? Since, isn't that what caused the panic in Advent Children? I could be thinking of something else though...

Also, swinging back to FF X again, there was a mission in FF X-2 or something, where Yuna and her lackeys visit that Trommel Guado dude or whatever and help Spira stop hating the Guado since they helped Seymour and all that jazz. I'm thinking, since the Guado pretty much are supposed to be guarding the Farplane... what if people starting blaming the Guado for the Farplane's malfunctions? People would start hating them again, they'd become a scapegoat... Since, while it's nice to get loved ones back, it's not nice to get people like Seymour back, haha...

Bah... I also had an idea involving Shinra and then, but my brain suddenly asploded. D/

[Griever]

Oooh, that's a very good idea~ A lot of very good ideas, actually. If both the Farplane and the Lifestream are where souls go after death, and that's WHY souls can come out and return to life, then it only makes sense someone would want to try to harness that connection and use it for themselves. Synen's the only real villain we have right now, though...definitely need someone for that. I LIKES IT A LOT.

Geostigma was caused by....oh, how to word it, tainted Lifestream I guess? There was Lifestream infected with Jenova cells, which was causing the disease...but most people didn't know the cause of it, so it's definitely reasonable for them to be panicking about the potential for it happening again. Considering how deadly it was when it broke out the first time, they'd probably be going a bit crazy trying to find some way to fight it before it could spread again, which could lead to some unpleasant human experiments...SYNEN, I THINK THIS IS YOUR DEPARTMENT.

Aaand on the FFX thought-train, I could definitely see that happening. O: Spira's people have shown themselves to like to point fingers at one group or another already, with the Al Bhed and then the Guado, and since they more or less just got their status back, the people's trust of them would be shaky at best. Especially if Seymour WERE to show up again.

Asploding brains are bad. D8 Try to do something about that.

[mattsukun]

Okay, so, reading over these I instantly got an idea that I believe to be quite beautiful actually. Lemme know if you guys like it or not. ^^

Pretty much, I was always running though a *lot* of different thoughts for Mina and such. How she came to be Synen's 'pet project' and such. Well, like what was suggested, having someone to experiment on is always a good idea.

What if, say, Synen managed to have gotten ahold of even just a small amount of the 'essence of the Farplane' and used *IT* to create a SOLDIER, ie; Mina

The effects of it going through her could explain her strong abilities and it could also help her in being a bit more interesting as well.

So, in short, SOLDIER created through Farplane energy rather than Mako. It would also help in showing his interest in other worlds and could leave openings for a lot more creations, monsters, villains, etc.

Any good? bad idea? Any changes some would have? This isn't everything, but it could be a good strong start if others like it.^^

[Hiko]

...'Kay, so Farplane SOLDIERS could be badass.

Uhm. Most of what I'm interested in doesn't really serve much in the way of major plotting.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing the effects of the Merge on towns/villages. Having whole worlds uprooted and squished together couldn't have been healthy for the terrain, or for the mental states of the people. Oh lord. That doesn't even count in the idea that there could be issues with the Mist (be it IX or XII).

I dunno. I'd love to see more go on in the world that isn't directly involving the main characters. Everyday things, from how the faiths of the games are responding to the Merge, to how families and individuals have reacted. You never see the "little people" of the worlds - at least, not after things start rolling toward the climax. One-shots of different villages (Eruyt comes to mind, as does the Cardia Islands) could easily be written.

Uhm. While writing this, something did come to mind.

What's happened to the crystals?

[mattsukun]

So, that would be what I like to call a 'good point made well.' Well, several good points made well all-in-all. The idea of the cities being mixed and damaged was grat, semi-what I did with ZoZo, but not too much.

Second, the Crystals, yeah. They've pretty much not been referred to since FF VII came out really. And they were always very important to those people, so it is a very good point to make. That in itself could easily be made to a strong plot point

Add the power of Farplane+Mako+Mist+Crystals of the FF games...and...well....yeah, lots could happen. lol

[eiko]

Also we can't forget that the last enemies of IV and IX, Zeromus and Necron, are both eternal principles (The Darkness of Men's Hearts and Death respectively) and therefore can revive anytime they feel like it.

Also whoever gets ahold of the FFIV crystals can go to the Moon and harness its power as well (though that's where Zeromus is sleeping so it might be dangerous).

[Griever]

Ooh, lots and lots of good ideas. I don't know much about the crystals from the earlier games, but I think we've got enough people here who DO that you guys can come up with plenty of stuff in regards to that. As for the effects of the Merge on towns, that could easily be worked into just about any thread, really...

IX's mist is gone at the end of the game. Kind of a pity, because it worked similarly to a false Lifestream...sort of a hybrid of Lifestream/Farplane energy and unsent souls, actually, because the souls trapped in the Mist eventually became Mist monsters or were used to create black mages. If we could come up with some way to bring back IX's Mist it could tie in REALLY well with the Lifestream/Farplane ideas, that could be fun.

Anyway, would you guys mind too terribly much if I made a general suggestions thread where the insane amount of plot (which is great <3) everyone's coming up with could go? Then we can refine the Lifestream/Farplane and maybe IX's Mist ideas so we'll have something solid to go on right now, and build up other things in the other thread to work into the plot too. Sound good?

[Hiko]

Sounds just fine, boss.

[Griever]

Baw I don't like getting called boss. ;o;

[Hiko]

Psh. Then don't be an admin, boss.

[/modsass]

[Griever]

...I completely forgot to mention. MATT. Farplane SOLDIERS could actually be pretty awesome. We know the effects of mako on the body, but even though Farplane energy is really similar, it's not quite the same. Could have a lot of fun seeing what its use causes. And for that matter, the same thing could be done with IX's Mist if we bring it back (anyone have an opinion on that?) - it's been used to create warriors before, the black mages, but not in already-living humans. I'd imagine having what are basically stagnant recycled souls shoved into someone's body wouldn't be good for them or their sanity.

[Hiko]

I'd love to see IX's Mist make a comeback. How hard would it really be to rationalize bringing it back, anyway?

[Aschen Windseer]

I'ld really like to add to the discussion here, but I'm too HERP DERP for it. Just gonna kick in a little issue to add.
Wouldn't folk from high-tech worlds (FF VII, FFVIII, FFX) have some sort of issue with low-tech worlders (FFI, FFIX, amongst many)? I mean, in terms of scientific, social, and military might, the higher technology planes have an advantage, so their people could become a bit more self-conceited, since they feel that their perfect world was invaded by savages.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be unlikely that the more religious and less advanced cultures see technology as a heresy, and therefore launch some kind of holy war, with 'witch' burnings and all.