Midgar Syndrome (The Final Fantasy House)
is a 20-minute dramatization of the real-life "Final Fantasy House" incident by punishedbread. As the description says, it is "based on the amazing true story of a man getting abused by a cult who believes they are reincarnated characters from the video game Final Fantasy 7."
The video, taking place in Pennsylvania in 2002, follows a college freshman who is a fan of FFVII and runs a site dedicated to the characters Cloud Strife and Zack Fair. He is approached online by two fans going by married couple Hojo and Jenova/Jenny-Nova, after two of the main villains of the game. Jen explains to him her belief that they are actually the characters of FFVII reincarnated on Earth, and assigns him the character of Zack. He believes they're just role-players and agrees to stay with them for a bit, not seeing anything really wrong, and befriending the other members of their group, also assigned various FFVII characters.
But soon, he begins to realize that their beliefs are very real, and that Jen believes she can connect to their past selves through 'soul-bonding.' And so, "Zack" plunges into a dark pit as he sees just how twisted this cult really is.
Note: the following examples will only trope the fictionalization. If something does not appear in the video itself, it is not tropable.
This video contains examples of:
- 2 + Torture = 5: The protagonist initially refuses to play along with the cult and their delusions that they are FFVII characters reincarnated. But he notes that after two months of little food, no sleep, constantly being watched at all times, and having his social life limited to the cult, he slowly lost his resistance, until they one day chained him to a table leg in the basement and left him there for daring to insult the leader and her wife. He broke right there, and subsequently participates in the cult's attacking of Aeris for wanting to leave the house- the very same treatment he was subjected to. Thankfully, after his shoes are stolen, he is able to snap out of it and leave the cult forever.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Rather than tell Jen her ideas about him being a video game character reborn is nonsense, the protagonist replies that it could make sense, leading to him to agree to meet her. This winds up getting him entangled in her cult, and in his narration he admits that it only made sense to him because he was a college freshman drunk on vodka.
- Alternate Timeline: Jen, in her first conversation with Zack on the web, espouses multiverse theory as an explanation for her belief that she and he are reincarnated video game characters.Jenny-Nova: u know those days where ur like "should I get cupcakes or actually eat a breakfast?"
well that is a choice, and with every choice there is an equal and opposite choice made
With each choice a different route that is chosen the universe is put on a different path - Awful Wedded Life: According to Zack, Jen and Hojo's arguments are frequent enough to keep him awake at night.Zack: Oh hey, Aeris. Have you seen Jen and Hojo?
Aeris: Um... Y'know, they're probably still in bed, y'know, they were up pretty late doing their... their... usual.
Zack: You mean arguing?
Aeris: ...Ah ...How did you know?
Zack: It keeps me up at night. - Big Bad: Jenny-Nova is the leader of the soul-bonding cult who abuses Zack throughout the video to make him join her cult of people who believe they are Final Fantasy VII characters.
- Bittersweet Ending: The protagonist has finally left the cult and is back with his mom in Brookyln, but only after irreversibly damaging his friendship with Crystal/Aeris, who the ending narration notes goes on to build her own cult in turn. Meanwhile, cult leader Jen and her wife Hojo go into hiding, never being punished for their acts.
- Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: The cult of soul-bonders believe they are the reincarnations of Final Fantasy VII characters.
- Disproportionate Retribution: One day, Zack criticizes Jen and Hojo for their abuse of him to Crystal/Aeris in confidence. Jen learns what he said and, in retaliation, locks him in the basement, chained to a table leg, until he finally cracks and starts going along with the cult.
- Dramatization: The film is one of the LiveJournal posts by a man who temporarily lived with a cult of people who believed themselves to be Final Fantasy VII characters. The intro lampshades that the names themselves are unchanged, as the original post never gave out real names in the first place, only using their nicknames derived from the FFVII characters.THIS IS A TRUE STORY
The events depicted in this film
took place in Pennsylvania in 2002.
No names were changed because
they already did that for us - The Dragon: Hojo, Jenny-Nova's wife, is also her right-hand woman in the cult.
- Driven to Suicide: Subverted. Jen threatens to kill herself when Aeris tries to leave her cult, and is seen on the floor, with a knife next to her and arm wounds. But Zack, who has engaged in cutting Self-Harm prior, can tell that her wounds are not truly suicidal or intended to kill her, but to gain sympathy and turn her followers against Aeris.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Zack's computer screen is shown in the beginning, it has several humorous usernames and signatures on the sidebar. For example, Zack's username is demon-sushi, and his signature says "admin and cool dude(tm)."
- Genki Girl: Jen, the cult leader, is depicted as a rare villainous variant. She uses cutesy language and mannerisms, as seen in her physical introduction which has her do a little twirl, introduce herself to Zack, and excitedly ramble on about herself while telling Zack's fortune with cards. Rather than make her endearing, it shows just how detached from reality she is.
- Laughing Mad: Upon being woken up in the middle of the night and dragged to a forest to "see the magic around us", Zack starts laughing in despair at never being allowed to sleep.
- Loony Fan: The antagonists are a group of Final Fantasy VII fans who believe that they are reincarnated characters from the game and have built an entire lifestyle around 'soul-bonding' with their past lives, whether it be listening to game music or practicing 'magic' from the game.
- Off-into-the-Distance Ending: Zack is shown walking on the snow-covered road away from the titular house in the ending, while text appears on-screen explaining the fates of the various people involved.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: In part to protect the identities of the real people involved in the actual incident, the characters are only referred to by their FFVII identities. For example, the protagonist is called Zack despite him not believing in the soul-bonding nonsense, while the cult leader is referred to as Jenova, Jen, and Jenny-Nova despite her name being public knowledge and available online.
- Only Sane Man: Zack is basically the only member of the titular household who does not believe in the cult of people who think they are FFVII characters, and views the whole thing as crazy.
- Rage Breaking Point: Zack is willing to take all manners of abuse from the cult and even start believing in their crap... until they steal his shoes. He lampshades that it seems absurdly small, but after everything else they did to him, this was the last straw that convinced him to finally leave.
- Sad-Times Montage: Around halfway through the video, Zack is shown trying and failing to sleep in various locations throughout various nights while having to listen to Jen and Hojo argue, showcasing just how miserable he is living with them.
- Self-Harm: Jen cuts her arms in a non-lethal manner when Aeris tries to leave her cult to get sympathy from the rest of her followers and turn them against Aeris.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: While Hojo doesn't use super-complicated terms, she is depicted as using more formal language and tone with Zack than the other housemates, likely as an attempt at emulating her Final Fantasy VII namesake (who she believes herself to be a reincarnation of).
- Shout-Out:
- The end credits names the Down the Rabbit Hole episode on the real-life "Final Fantasy House" as being the inspiration for the video, though referring to the series creator Fredrik Knudsen rather than the series name.
- When Zack's screen is shown, the signature of the user Psycopath says "All base belongs to us."
- Tradesnark™: Zack's signature on his site says "admin and cool dude(tm)."
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: After Zack comes to his senses and successfully flees the house, text appears detailing what happened to him and the other cult members. Zack spends a few days homeless before reclaiming his belongings and returning to his mom, Jen strains her marriage with Hojo further by dating another woman who moves into the house, and Aeris forms a new cult based around Suikoden and moves to southern California. Eventually, Zack writes an expose on LiveJournal that sends the cult members into hiding and causes "Final Fantasy House" to become an online byword for abusive living conditions.
